THE NEW JERUSALEM 

Cover art by Christopher Rafuse 


What now follows is history like what we see in the stars (it takes time for light to reach us) and the rest of the Bible, as envisioned by St. John in his book of revelation (written on the isle of Patmos about 96 AD)The Apocalypse.

 

The following is taken from a copyrighted book, Footnotes to the Book of Revelation by Kenneth G. Katrensky (me), published in 1998 but presently out of print. The following is an edited version of the same book, hopefully an improvement.

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE APOCALYPSE OF SAINT JOHN

Chapter 1

St. John is ordered to write to the seven churches in Asia. The manner of Christ's appearing to him.

Chapter 2

Directions what to write to the angels or bishops of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus and Thyatira.

Chapter 3

Directions what to write to Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

Chapter 4

The vision of the throne of God, the twenty-four ancients and the four living creatures.

Chapter 5

The book sealed with seven seals is opened by the Lamb, who thereupon receives adoration and praise from all.

Chapter 6

What followed upon opening six seals

Chapter 7

The number of them that were marked with the seal of the living God and clothed in white robes.

Chapter 8

The seventh seal is opened. The angels with the seven trumpets.

Chapter 9

Locusts come forth from the bottomless pit. The vision of the army of horsemen.

Chapter 10

The cry of a mighty angel. He gives John a book to eat.

Chapter 11

He is ordered to measure the temple. The two witnesses.

Chapter 12

The vision of the women clothed with the sun and of the great dragon her persecutor

Chapter 13

Of the beast with seven heads and of a second beast

Chapter 14

Of the Lamb and of the virgins that follow him. Of the judgments that shall fall upon the wicked.

Chapter 15

Of the seven angels with the seven vials.

Chapter 16

The seven vials are poured out. The plagues that ensue.

Chapter 17

The description of the great harlot and of the beast upon which she sits.

Chapter 18

The fall of Babylon. Kings and merchants lament over her.

Chapter 19

The saints glorify God for his judgments on the great harlot. Christ's victory over the beast and the kings of the earth.

Chapter 20

Satan is bound for a thousand years. The souls pf the martyrs reign with Christ in the first resurrection. The last attempts of Satan against the church. The last judgement.

Chapter 21

The new Jerusalem described

Chapter 22

The water and the tree of life. The conclusion.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

BIBLICAL SUPPLEMENT

Why I Chose the Douay-Rheims Translation of the Bible

Seven Words on the Inerrancy of Sacred Scripture

Books of the Bible - Differences

Proper Names Compared

Numbering of the Psalms Compared

RELEVANT SCRIPTURE

Daniel, Chapter 2

Daniel, Chapter 7

Daniel, Chapter 8

Daniel, Chapter 9

Daniel, Chapter 10

Daniel, Chapter 11

Daniel, Chapter 12

Ezechiel, Chapter 1

Ezechiel, Chapter 10

Zacharias, Chapter 1

Zacharias, Chapter 6

Jeremias, Chapter 4

Ezechiel, Chapter 38

Ezechiel, Chapter 39

Zacharias, Chapter 14

 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


 

There are many books that lay claim to divine inspiration and propose religions or ways for our belief. Besides the bible I've read the Quorum, The Book of Mormon, portions of the Bhagava Gita and others. They all look good to me!

 

The Bible teaches that there is only one way. Jesus tells us, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"(Jn 14:6). He also says, "on this rock I will build my church"(Mt 16:18), not churches. Going back to the book of Genesis; what the serpent offered Eve was something that looked good (Gen 3:6) and made her like God (Gen 3:5), in other words, a new religion.

 

We know that the Bible is God's word only because the church (bishops - successors of the apostles) who selected the books and put them together tell us this. They also tell us that the criteria they used in selecting the books was that they were traditionally used in the church. The authority of the Bible, then, depends upon tradition and the teaching authority of the Church. An attack (such as mounted by scholars, secular and sacred, since the reformation) on any one of these is an attack on the other two.

 

My first and most heartfelt thanks here goes out to those good bishops who have striven to pass on to posterity that word and that tradition in all its integrity. Secondly, thanks are due, for the love and honest labour of the many scholars who contributed to recent translations of the Bible without which this book would not be possible. To Don Parker-Burgard at the RSV/NRSV permissions office, Margaret A. Buono, of Catholic Book Publishing, Donna Alexander at Hendrickson Publishers and Katie Roberts of Macmillan Publishers in London (for taking the time to enlighten me with respect to permission requirements) a thank you is due.

 

Credit is due also to John Stormer for his well-researched book None Dare Call it Treason and the permission to quote from it, Kelly Rogers at the University Press of America for permission to use excerpts from The Dream and the Tomb by Robert Payne. Special thanks to Tan Books and Mary Francis Lester for taking the time to look at my manuscript, for making so many fine titles available and permissions for Church History, The Book of Destiny, The Prophets and our times, and the History of Anti-Christ.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

 

This treatise is the result of a life long interest in the faith and scripture. It was begun in order to clarify my own thinking on the book of Revelation, which had been, prior to that time, along with the other prophetic books of the Bible sort of a brick wall in my scriptural studies. One winter day in late 1995, with help various concordances (one of them computerized), the wall seemed to give way.

 

The method used here in the interpretation of Revelation is based on the assumption that many of the words and events in this book are pointing to similar words and events in the Old and New Testaments. When these word and events are analyzed together inferences can be made, and an understanding of the text is possible in the light of scripture, history and prophecy assuming that the book of Revelation is itself a prophetical history of the Christian Church and the events directly affecting it.

 

Realizing that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation (2Pet 1:20) and that is only by the Holy Spirit that we can hope to understand what He has dictated, I've tried to maintain a semblance of monastic discipline in my life while working on this writing. This process, I've found, has helped me and I offer it in the hopes of helping others not only with their scriptural studies but especially with their spiritual life.

 

In all of this I don't claim to have had a divine revelation. I speak of only probabilities and possibilities except, of course, when speaking of articles of faith. The approach that I have taken, as far as possible, is to let the Holy Writ explain itself for "God is true; and every man a liar"(Rom3:4) - a  point which both students and scholars would do well to way.

 

As in the other pages of this website the BLUE font is mine.

 

 



THE APOCALYPSE OF SAINT JOHN

 


Chapter 1

St. John is ordered to write to the seven churches in Asia. The manner of Christ's appearing to him.

 

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to make known to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass: and signified, sending by his angel to his servant John,

 

The predictions in this book must surely happen.

 

"Things which must shortly come to pass"... and again it is said, ver. 3, The time is at hand --- This cannot be meant of all the things prophesied in the Apocalypse, where mention is made also of the day of judgment, and of the glory of heaven at the end of the world. That some things were to come to pass shortly, is evident, by what is said to the Seven Churches, chap. 2 and 3, Or that the persecutions foretold should begin shortly. Or that these words signified, that all time is short, and that from the coming of Christ, we are now in the last age or last hour. See 1 John 2. 18.

 

2 Who hath given testimony to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, what things soever he hath seen. 3 Blessed is he, that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy; and keepeth those things which are written in it; for the time is at hand.


"Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good." 1Thess:19,20 - "And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you would do well to pay attention to it, as a light shining in a dark place"2Pet1:19

                                       

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you and peace from him that is, and that was, and that is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.

 

seven - The number seven in the bible usually indicates completion or perfection. "God blessed the seventh day and called it holy" (very good)Gen1:31, Gen 2:3

 

seven spirits - "Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars."Prov9:1 - (sevenfold spirit) in the NIV - "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of council and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord."Isa11:2, 3

 

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

 

ruler of the kings - Jesus spoke: All power in heaven and earth has been given to me."Mt28:18 - "Jesus Christ is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords."1Tim:6:14, 15

 

6 And hath made us a kingdom, and priests to God and his Father, to him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

 

priests- "if you obey me and keep my covenant you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."Ex9:5,6 - "you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."1Pet2:5 - "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."1Pet2:9

 

7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him. Even so. Amen. 8 I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

 

Alpha and Omega - I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god."Isa44:6

 

8 "I am Alpha and Omega" ... These are the names of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and signify the same as what follows: The beginning and the end: the first cause and last end of all beings: who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty --- These words signify the true God only, and are here applied to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is to come again to judge the living and the dead.

 

9 I John, your brother and your partner in tribulation, and in the kingdom, and patience in Christ Jesus, was in the island, which is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

 

trumpet - Trumpets are used in scripture to announce important events or to assemble the people. "On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. Then Moses the people out of the camp to meet with God. They stood at the foot of the mountain."Ex19:16, 17 - "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near."Joel2:1) - "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; gather the people." - Joel 2:15 - "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and hey will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."Mt24:31

 

11 Saying: What thou seest, write in a book, and send to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamus, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. 12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks: 13 And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

 

The pseudo-scholarship that penetrates many modern translations of the Bible tells us that the book of Daniel is fiction not prophecy, written after the fact; sort of an early attempt at positive thinking and that Daniel never existed. This is just another attack on the Bible, tradition and the Faith. I deem it necessary to mention it here on account of any general unthinking acceptance of it.

 

Son of man - "As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. And he come to the Ancient one and was presented before Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and His kingdom is one that shall never be destroyed."Dan7:13, 14 - "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the Earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."Mt24:30 - "the Son of Man is Lord"Mt12:8

 

garment - "Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve me as a priest. These are the garments they are to make: a breast piece, an ephod, a robe"Ex28:3, 4.

 

golden girdle - Both ephod and breast piece covered the priests chest were made of various yarns (Ex28:15) while the covering in verse 13 is pure gold. - "But the ministry Jesus has received is superior to theirs as the covenant of which he mediator is superior to the old one, and is founded on better promises."Heb8:6 - "Jesus who went before us has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."Heb6:20

 

"Melchizedek, the king of Salem, bought out bread and wine; for he was a priest of the Most High God. He blessed Abraham"Gn14:18 - "The Lord said to my Lord: I have begotten thee. Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek"Ps109:3, 4.  - "The Jews said to him (Jesus) 'Thou art not yet fifty years old and hast thou seen Abraham'. Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." "I AM"Ex3:14 is the name of God and so a small trip back in time to visit Abraham would not have been a problem for Jesus.

 

14 And his head and his hairs were white, as white wool, and as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as in a burning furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters.

 

white - This shows his close relationship to the "Ancient of Days" in Daniel. - "As I looked, thrones were put in place, and an Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool."Dan7:9

 

brass, as in a burning furnace - "His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands of thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened."Dan7:9, 10 - "I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen, with a belt of gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze"Dan10:5, 6 - Bronze in scripture denotes great strength. - "give thanks to the Lord for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron."Ps107:15, 16 - "So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on a pole: and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live."Num21:9 - "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."Jn3:14, 15

 

his voice as the sound of many waters - "the sound of his words like the roar of a multitude."Dan10:5 - see note on Ezekiel 1:16 in chapter 4 of Revelation that follows. Read Daniel, chapters 2 and 7 to 12 in the biblical supplement at the end of this page (see table of contents above). This book is discussed elsewhere in this book so don't worry if you are having difficulties.

 

Dan2:45 - (2Sam22:2, 1Cor10:4, Dan8:25, Isa63:3-5, Lk20:17, 18, Ps2:8, 9)

 

Dan7:11 - (2Thess2:4)

 

Dan7:12 - "And that the power of the other beasts was taken away: and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time."

 

Dan8:26 - "vision of the evenings and mornings" - This may denote that this applies to two periods of history as Antiochus Epiphanes is a figure of the Antichrist. This period of history (175BC - 135 BC) is in the two books of Maccabees.

 

Dan7:24 - "three kings" - (Dan11:43)

 

Dan9:27 - "one seven" - probably 7 years in the latter days when a 'confirmation'Lk18:8 of the faith will be necessary - "from the going forth of the word to build up Jerusalem again, (about 445 BC) unto Christ the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks:" (69 X 7 = 483 years) "and the street shall be built in straightness (difficult) of times"2Es:2 - 483 years takes us to, about the time of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

 

Dan11:37 - "And he shall make no account of the God of his fathers: and he shall follow the lust of women, and he shall not regard any gods: for he shall rise up against all things."

 

Dan11:45 - "And he shall fix his tabernacle Apadno between the seas, upon a glorious and holy mountain: and he shall come even to the top thereof, and no one will help him."

 

Dan12:11, 12 - (Dan 9:27)

 

16 And he had in his right hand seven stars. And from his mouth came out a sharp two edged sword: and his face was as the sun shineth in his power.

 

stars - "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."Dan12:3

 

sharp two edged sword - "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."Heb4:12, 13 - Our Lord, in Revelation, uncovers hidden things with this sword.

 

17 And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, 18 And alive, and was dead, and behold I am living for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and of hell. 19 Write therefore the things which thou hast seen, and which are, and which must be done hereafter. 20 The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven candlesticks are the seven churches.

 

This explanation of our Lord stamps the whole book as an allegory. The language must be considered metaphorical unless the context argues for the literal sense.(The Book of Destiny by Rev. H.B. Kramer p.58)

 

angels - probably symbolizing the elders of the various churches. See notes Rev 4:4 and Rev 3:1. - "For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth: because he is the angel of the Lord of Hosts."Mal 2:7

 

 

Chapter 2

Directions what to write to the angels or bishops of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus and Thyatira.

 

1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: These things saith he, who holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: 2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them that are evil, and thou hast tried them, who say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And thou hast patience, and hast endured for my name, and hast not fainted. 4 But I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first charity. 5 Be mindful therefore from whence thou art fallen: and do penance, and do the first works. Or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate. 7 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him, that overcometh, I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God.

 

tree of life - "The man has now like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."Gen3:22

 

8 And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead, and is alive: 9 I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich: and thou art blasphemed by them that say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. 11 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: He that shall overcome, shall not be hurt by the second death.

 

second death - "Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."Rev20:14, 15

 

12 And to the angel of the church of Pergamus write: These things, saith he that hath the sharp two edged sword: 13 I know where thou dwellest, where the seat of Satan is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith. Even in those days when Antipas was my faithful witness, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14 But I have against thee a few things: because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat, and to commit fornication: 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaites. 16 In like manner do penance: if not, I will come to thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He, that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches: To him that overcometh, I will give the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the counter, a new name written, which no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it.

 

hidden manna - "manna was white like coriander Seed and tasted like wafers made with honey."Ex16:31 - Unlike the manna of Exodus, which could be seen, this hidden manna probably refers to spiritual consolations: "joy and peace"Rom15:13, are promised to those who don't eat 'idol offerings' and avoid 'impurity'Rev2:14, 20

 

white stone - Stones were used by the Greeks for admission to a royal assembly and white stones in a jury trial as a vote of acquittal of crime. Remission of the punishment due to sin and admission to the heavenly banquet seems what is indicated.

 

new name - "to his servants he will give another name"Isa65:15 - "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit ... You must be born again."Jn3:5, 7 - "And there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews ... Nicodemus saith to him (Jesus): How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born again? ... Jesus answered, and said to him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things"Jn3:1, 4, 10 - The entire body of Christ, head and members is, indeed, formed within the Virgin's womb, the real arc of the covenant. - "Amen I say to you, unless you turn and become like little children" (completely dependent on their mother) "you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven"Mt18:3 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, see, the new has come!"2Cor5:17 - and no one knows it but you

 

18 And to the angel of the church of Thyatira write: These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like to a flame of fire, and his feet like to fine brass. 19 I know thy works, and thy faith, and thy charity, and thy ministry, and thy patience, and thy last works which are more than the former. 20 But I have against thee a few things: because thou sufferest the woman Jezabel, who calleth herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat of things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her a time that she might do penance, and she will not repent of her fornication. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed: and they that commit adultery with her shall be in very great tribulation, except they do penance from their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one of you according to your works. But to you I say, 24 And to the rest who are at Thyatira: Whosoever have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will not put upon you any other burthen. 25 Yet that, which you have, hold fast till I come. 26 And he that shall overcome, and keep my works unto the end, I will give him power over the nations. 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and as the vessel of a potter they shall be broken, 28 As I also have received of my Father: and I will give him the morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.

 

power over the nations - to those who distance themselves from the idolatry (Rev2:20) of the times our Lord promises power in the new social order. See notes on chapters 21 and 22. - "The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet"Isa60:14 - "The kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them."Dan7:27

 

the morning star - offered in opposition to "Satan's ... deep secrets"Rev2:24, is the light that proceeds the light of day as is also the gift of mystical prayer (see Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross, The Ways of Mental Prayer by Lehodey and also Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila) where, like Moses one speaks to the Lord "face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord."Num12:8

 

26 "Power over the nations" ... This shews, that the saints, who are with Christ our Lord in heaven, receive power from him to preside over nations and provinces, as patrons; and shall come with him at the end of the world to execute his will against those who have not kept his commandments.

 

 

Chapter 3

Directions what to write to Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.

 

1 And to the angel of the church of Sardis, write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast the name of being alive: and thou art dead.

 

dead - A dead angel is a devil. See note on Rev 1:20.

 

2 Be watchful and strengthen the things that remain, which are ready to die. For I find not thy works full before my God. 3 Have in mind therefore in what manner thou hast received and heard: and observe, and do penance. If then thou shalt not watch, I will come to thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I will come to thee. 4 But thou hast a few names in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy.

 

white - "they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."Rev7:14

 

5 He that shall overcome, shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

 

book of life - "The Lord replied to Moses, 'Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.'"Ex32:33 - "But at that time your people - everyone whose name is found written in the book -will be delivered."Dan12:1 - "my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life."Phil4:3

 

I will confess his name - "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."Mt10:32

 

6 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. 7 And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth:

 

key of David -"I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut; and what he shuts no one can open."Isa22:22 - These words were spoken to Eliakim "who was in charge of the palace"Isa36:3 of David; a position second only to the king (Gen46:40). The kingdom of David was a figure of the kingdom or Church of Christ. - "For a child has been born to us, a son given to us; authority rests on his shoulders ... the throne of David and his kingdom"Isa9:6,7 - "you are Rock, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."Mt16:18, 19

 

8 I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will bring of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will make them to come and adore before thy feet. And they shall know that I have loved thee. 10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of the temptation, which shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 He that shall overcome, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; and he shall go out no more; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and my new name.

 

a pillar in the temple ... and he shall go out no more - sweet words in the ears of a sinner

 

13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. 14 And to the angel of the church of Laodicea, write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the beginning of the creation of God:

 

14 "The Amen," ... that is, the true one, the Truth itself; the Word and Son of God. The beginning ... that is, the principle, the source, and the efficient cause of the whole creation.

 

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold, nor hot. I would thou wert cold, or hot. 16 But because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold, not hot, I will begin to vomit thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made wealthy, and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

 

gold fire tried - "I will refine them like silver and test them like gold."Zech13:9 - "if now you have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."1Pet1:6, 7

 

eyesalve - Laodocia was noted for its eye salve.

 

19 Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance.

 

do penance - This admonition is repeated five times in chapters 2 and 3


20 Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 To him that shall overcome, I will give to sit with me in my throne: as I also have overcome, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

 

sit with me in my throne - This suggests a sharing in the decision making process. Moses enjoyed such a privilege (Ex32:9-14).

 

22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches..

 

 

Chapter 4

The vision of the throne of God, the twenty-four ancients and the four living creatures.

 

The key to understanding this chapter is probably the book of Hebrews: "They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow of the heavenly one" (the Church of the new covenant) "for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent, was warned, - See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain."Heb8:5.

 

As there are similarities between this chapter and the first and tenth chapter of Ezekiel a preliminary reading of that would be in order to help your visualization. See the biblical supplement. Most likely, what, Ezekiel is shown there is the spiritual reality of the old covenant church; St. John here - the new.

 

Ezek1:5 - "their form was that of a man"

 

Ezek1:6 - "four" denotes that earthly things are being spoke of - (Job1:19 - Ezek7:2 - Acts10:12 - Jer49:36)

 

Ezek1:7 - denotes the separation of the "chaff from the wheat"(Mic4:12, 13) a pastoral or priestly duty

 

Ezek1:8 - "they had the hands of a man" - tells us that these creatures are human indeed

 

Ezek1:9 - "joined" indicates that they are connected or related as were the sons of Aaron - (Deut5:32 & 28:14) - indicates that they follow the law of Moses

 

Exek1:10 – the four faces show their functions or duties – “man” – they had to deal with man – “lion” – they had positions of authority – “ox” – they offer sacrifice – “eagle” – they were mediators between heaven and earth

 

Ezek1:13 – “lamps” – they are the lights of the old testament church – “running to and fro in the midst of the living creatures a bright fire” – this is identified as “coals” in Ezek10:2 – they take turns offering sacrifice – “lightning” – indicates their teaching office

 

Ezek1:14 – (Nah 2:3 - 5) – seems to indicate disarray or confusion in their ranks

 

Ezek1:16 -  “sea” – (Rev17:15)

 

Ezek1:18 – “full of eyes” as are the creatures (Ezek10:2) – indicates a group of people i.e. Jews

 

Ezek1:19 – the wheels follow the lead of the creatures indicating the hierarchical structure of the synagogue

 

Ezek1:22 – “firmament, as the appearance of crystal terrible to behold” – (Rev4:6 & Rev15:2) – both probably refer to 1Kings7:23 – 26 & 2Chr4:6 or to the purification necessary to reach God – “He will baptize you with fire and the Holy Spirit”Lk3:16

 

Ezek1:24 – when they used there wings ("hoped in the Lord"Isa40:31) they sound like the “voice of the Almighty” otherwise “the tumult of an army” or mob (Mt26:47)

 

Ezek1:25 – “they stood with lowered wings” – covering themselves as did Adam and Eve (Gen3:7)

 

Ezek1:26 – “sapphire” – a blue precious stone – (Ex24:10) – He is above the heavens in both these pictures

 

Ezek1:27 – “glowing metal” (Mal3:2,3) and “fire” (Ps97:3) show his ability to purify and divine justice respectively

 

Ezek1:28 – a “rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day” is a sign of a brighter day to come – “likeness of the glory of the Lord” – (1Tim6:16)

 

1 After these things I looked, and behold a door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, said: Come up hither, and I will shew thee the things which must be done hereafter.

 

heaven – “heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God”Deut10:14 - “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven.”2Cor:12:2 – Jewish writings speak of seven heavens – “But our citizenship is in heaven”Phil3:20 - “God … bought us to life in Christ … raised us up … and seated us with him in the heavens”Eph2:4-6 - “It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.”Dan8:10 – Heaven here refers to the church at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (168 – 164 BC). - “How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with the cloud of his anger! He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth”Lam2:1 – The destruction of the temple of Solomon in 586 is lamented here; again heaven is the church. “the kingdom of God is within you”Lk17:21

 

hereafter – The book of Revelation speaks of the future.

 

2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold there was a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne one sitting. 3 And he that sat, was to the sight like the jasper and the sardine stone; and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

 

jasper –  “probably our diamond” (Book of Destiny) - holiness?

 

sardine – “a species of ruby” – love?

 

rainbow … like unto an emerald – The ‘clouds around the rainbow’ Ezek1:28 have vanished. - emerald or green; a picture of God the Source of Life? - “Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation’ (“the green herb” NRSV) Gen1:11 - “You are the Lord, you alone; you have made heaven … the earth … the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life”Neh9:6 - “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has given the Son to have life in himself”Jn5:26 - “I have come that they may life, and have it to the full.”Jn10:10

 

4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats; and upon the seats, four and twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments, and on their heads were crowns of gold.

 

round about the throne - “above the firmament that was over their heads”Ezech1:26 - The action in this scene, has moved from below the throne to the same plane i.e. the actors are closer to God.

 

four and twenty – In chapter 24 of 1st Chronicles “David organized” the sons of Aaron into 24 divisions “according to the appointed duties of their service”1Chr24:19 “to enter the house of the Lord”1Chr24:19. What seems indicated here is the continuity of the priesthood under the new covenant (Jer31:31 – Lk22:20 – 2Cor3:6).

 

ancients – “The elders who direct the affairs of the church are worthy of double honor”1Tim5:17 – The authors of 2nd, 3rd John & 1st Peter5:1 identify themselves as elders or ancients.

 

“David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, and the Levitical priests, shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to make grain offerings and to make sacrifices for all time.”Jer33:17, 18 – Aaron and his sons are Levites (Ex6:16-20). Jesus, of the house of David, the King, fulfils the first part of this prophecy but the second must find its fulfillment elsewhere (the Christian priesthood). The offerings and sacrifices of the law are figures of the Christian sacrifice (Rom12:1 – Eph5:2 – Phil2:17 – Phil4:18 – 1Pet2:5 – especially that of Jesus Heb10:5-10).

 

St. Ignatius of Antioch writing around 100 AD tells us, “let all reverence the deacons as an appointment of Jesus Christ, and the bishop as Jesus Christ … and the presbyters as the Sanhedrin of God and assembly of apostles. Apart from these, there is no Church (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol.1, epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians, chap.3).

 

5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, and voices, and thunders; and there were seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.

 

lightnings – “Light is shed upon the righteous.”Ps97:11 - “in your light we see light”Ps36:9 - “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”Jn8:12  - God teaches us in various ways: enlightening us interiorly …

 

voices – “The heavens declare the glory of God … Day after day they pour forth speech … their voices go out unto all the earth” Ps18:3-5 – through what we see, hear and read …

 

thunders – “God’s voice thunders in marvelous way; he does great things beyond our understanding.”Job37:5 - “Who can understand the thunder of his power?”Job26:14 - “at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight”Ps104:7 - “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders … over the mighty waters … The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars … and strips the forests bare.”Ps29:3-9 – through his hidden and manifest action which is our day to day experience.

 

6 And in the sight of the throne was, as it were, a sea of glass like to crystal; and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes before and behind.

 

sea of glass – “firmament, as the appearance of crystal terrible to behold”Ezek1:22 - This and Rev15:2 both probably refer to (1Kings7:23-26& 2Chr4:6) or to the purification necessary to reach God. – “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”Lk3:16

 

midst of the throne, and round about the throne – The “living creatures” are closer to God than the elders denoting a hierarchy.

 

full of eyes – “full of eyes”Ezek10:12,  - As in Ezekiel this indicates that this is a group of people. See also Dan7:8.

 

four – This number in scripture quite often indicates that earthly things are being pointed to (Job1:19 – Ezek7:2 – Jer49:36 – Acts10:12).

 

7 And the first living creature was like a lion: and the second living creature like a calf: and the third living creature, having the face, as it were, of a man: and the fourth living creature was like an eagle flying.

 

lion … calf … man … eagle – These creatures have the same duties as those in Ezek1:10.  “lion” – authority or rule - “calf” – to offer sacrifice – “man” – they had to deal with men – “eagle” – they were mediators between heaven and earth

 

8 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings; and round about and within they are full of eyes. And they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.

 

six wings – These are “seraphs”Isa6:1 while the creatures in Ezek10:14 identify themselves as “cherubs”

 

9 And when those living creatures gave glory, and honour, and benediction to him that sitteth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever; 10 The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created.

 

ancients - The elders here and else where follow the lead of the living creatures again indicating the church hierarchy.

 

 

Chapter 5

The book sealed with seven seals is opened by the Lamb, who thereupon receives adoration and praise from all.

 

1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne, a book written within and without, sealed with seven seals.

 

sealed – “For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give it to someone who can read, and say to him ‘Read this please’, he will answer ‘I can’t it is sealed’. Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say ‘Read this please’ he will answer, ‘I don’t know how to read.’”Isa29:11, 12

 

seven - “God blessed the seventh day and called it holy” (“very good” Gen1:31) “because on it he rested from all his creation.”Gen2:3

 

2 And I saw a strong angel, proclaiming with a loud voice: Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3 And no man was able, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, to open the book, nor to look on it.

 

under the earth – Hades

 

4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open the book, nor to see it.

 

I wept – Conscious of his own and humanity’s fallen human nature John becomes very sad.

 

5 And one of the ancients said to 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.

 

lion of the tribe of Juda – Jesus is of the tribe of Juda. His genealogy is given in the 1st chapter of Mathew. “The sceptre will not depart from Juda, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine (Israel) “and his colt to the choicest branch,” (the house of David) “he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.”Gen49:10, 11 – The “donkey” here possibly refers to the human body – the vehicle of the soul. See also Zech9:9 and Isa63:2.

 

root of David – “For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him … He was … a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity.”Isa53:2,3 – “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations shall rally to him, and his place of rest shall be glorious.”Isa11:10 – “Jesse is the father of David.”Ru4:22 – “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David”Mt1:1

 

6 And I saw: and behold in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the ancients, a Lamb standing as it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes: which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

 

Lamb – “The word translated is ‘the Little Lamb’” (p.35 Book of Destiny) and is used throughout Revelation. – “he was led like a lamb to the slaughter”Isa53:7 – “John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”Jn1:29 – “it was not with perishable things such as silver and gold that you were redeemed from your empty way of life – but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”1Pet1:18, 19

 

seven horns – If kings (Dan7:24) or kingdoms (Dan8:3) are eliminated from consideration here we are left with ‘horns of salvation’2Sam22:3 & Lk1:69 or ‘horns of oil’.  -“So Samuel took the horns of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.”1Sam16:13 – Probably, taken in the context of this chapter, point to the horns on the altars of holocaust and incense (Ex27:2 & 30:2) which were signs of the atoning power of the altars – “Once a year Aaron shall perform the right of atonement on its horns. Throughout your generations he shall perform the atonement for it once a year with the blood of the atoning sin offering.”Ex30:10. - This in turn pointed to the atonement of Christ. The seven sacraments, which are signs of this atonement, are probably what is indicated here. Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholic and Orthodox rites, which go back to the beginning, all have seven sacraments.

 

7 And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. 8 And when he had opened the book, the four living creatures, and the four and twenty ancients fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints:

 

harps – The 24 harps here call to mind the 24 courses of musicians “for the music of the house of the Lord”1Chr25:6 indicating that what is taking place here is liturgy.

 

8 "The prayers of saints" ... Here we see that the saints in heaven offer up to Christ the prayers of the faithful upon earth.

 

9 And they sung a new canticle, saying: Thou art worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation. 10 And hast made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the ancients; and the number of them was thousands of thousands, 12 Saying with a loud voice: The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and benediction. 13 And every creature, which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them: I heard all saying: To him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever.

 

Throughout Revelation heaven denotes the faithful (see note Rev 4:1). The sea (notes Rev 7:1) is the wicked; those with little good will. The earth is the rest of mankind; under the earth is Sheol. - “By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow”Isa45:23

 

14 And the four living creatures said: Amen. And the four and twenty ancients fell down on their faces, and adored him that liveth for ever and ever.

 

 

Chapter 6

What followed upon opening six seals

 

A thank you is here due to Rev. H B Kramer for pointing out in The Book of Destiny the historical events that are referred to in this chapter and those of seven to nine, which I have attempted to verify with my own research and relate to scripture.

 

The four coloured horses in this chapter call to mind Zechariah. Please read Zech1:8 – 17 & Zech6 in the supplement.

 

Zech1:8 – “man” is identified as “the angel of the Lord”Zech1:11 – possibly “Michael, the great prince and protector of your people”Dan12:1 – in any case a figure of some authority – “myrtle” an evergreen plant represents those having eternal life. See also Isa55:13 i.e. the people of God – the rider’s “horse” is possibly red because of the blood shed in “Jerusalem … and the cities of Juda”Zech1:12 prior to the building of the temple in 520 BC – “horses, red, speckled and white” that accompany the first red horse are probably angels as is the rider or "man" who speaks to Zechariah.

 

Zech6:1 – “four” tells us that what follows takes place on earth “chariots” with “horses” are “winds of heaven”Zech6:5 which represent destructive agents (Jer49:36 & Dan7:2) – “mountains of bronze” – probably represent the kingdom of Christ and its shadow, the kingdom of David (Dan2:34, 45 – Isa2:2,3 – Mic4:1, 2)

 

Zech6:2,3 – the “chariot” being primarily a war machines denotes military empires – “red … black … white …grizzled” the color probably points to a predominate trait of the empire or people

 

Zech6:6 –

 

·        red – Babylonian empire – 626 BC – 539 BC

 

·        black – Mede-Persian – 539 BC - 330 BC

 

·        white – Greek – 330 BC – 63 BC

 

·      grizzled (dappled in some translations) – Roman empire – 63 BC – 1806 AD ? – abdication of Francis II, the last holy Roman emperor

 

The judgment in verses 1 to 8 of this chapter of Revelation probably refers to a particular period of history as well as history in general. Zechariah’s vision occurred after the Babylonian captivity but before the building of the new temple in Jerusalem. This possibly points to the similar situation, which is Church history.

 

“I send upon Jerusalem my four deadly acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild animals, and pestilence, to cut off humans and animals from it!”Ezek14:21




1 And I saw that the Lamb had opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures, as it were the voice of thunder, saying: Come, and see. 2 And I saw: and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and there was a crown given him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer.

 

white horse – “Suetonius reports that Domitian (the future Roman emperor) accompanied his father and brother during the Judean war riding a white horse” (p.149 of The Book of Destiny). White is not necessarily a good sign. See notes above on Zech6:6.


2 "White horse"... He that sitteth on the white horse is Christ, going forth to subdue the world by his gospel. The other horses that follow represent the judgments and punishment that were to fall on the enemies of Christ and his church. The red horse signifies war; the black horse, famine; and the pale horse (which has Death for its rider), plagues or pestilence.

 

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature, saying: Come, and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and to him that sat thereon, it was given that he should take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and a great sword was given to him.

 

horse that was red – “Hadrian in a war that lasted 5 years from 131 AD to 135 AD devastated the whole country and put an end to the Jewish national existence. The inhabitants were either massacred or sold into slavery. The ruin of the nation was complete and final. Fifty cities and a thousand villages and 480 synagogues were wiped out.” (p.153 as above)

 

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying: Come, and see. And behold a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying: Two pounds of wheat for a penny, and thrice two pounds of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the wine and the oil.

 

black horse – “historical books in many passages exhibit wheat, barley, oil and wine as the principal crops of Palestine” (p.156 ibid.) – While a war is going on there is not time to plant wheat, barley but grapes (wine) and olive (oil) trees would continue to grow.

 

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature, saying: Come, and see. 8 And behold a pale horse, and he that sat upon him, his name was Death, and hell followed him. And power was given to him over the four parts of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

 

beasts – “previous to the ascension of Constantine … Many authors calculate the number of those who had laid down their lives for the faith to have been nearly eleven millions!” (Victories of the Martyrs by St. Alfonsus De Liguori – p.32,33) – and that when the world’s population was not near what it is today - Literal “beasts” were also involved in this holocaust.

 

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.

 

under the altar – “Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour the rest at the foot of the altar.”Ex29:12 – “For life of the creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar: it is the blood that makes atonement for ones life.”Lev17:11

 

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord (holy and true) dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

 

revenge our blood – “Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground” Gen4: 10 – “from … each one … for the blood of another, I will require a reckoning for human life”Gen9:5

 

10 "Revenge our blood" ... They ask not this out of hatred to their enemies, but out of zeal for the glory of God, and a desire that the Lord would accelerate the general judgment, and the complete beatitude of all his elect.

 

11 And white robes were given to every one of them one; and it was said to them, that they should rest for a little time, till their fellow servants, and their brethren, who are to be slain, even as they, should be filled up. 12 And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair: and the whole moon became as blood:

 

sixth seal – From verse 12 to the end of the chapter the scenario is similar to that of Jeremiah 4 where the 605 BC invasion of Palestine by Nebuchadnezzer is predicted. In both cases the heavens are darkened, there is an earthquake and people go into hiding. Read Jer4:23 – 29.

 

Jer4:23 – no “light” in “the heavens” – See notes on Rev4:1.

 

Jer4:24 – “mountains” and “hills” – probably here refer to levels of government or rulers in Israel (Isa2:11-21 – Ezek6:3 – Mic6:1)

 

great earthquake – Social upheaval is here denoted. See notes on Jer4:24 above and Rev6:14. Constantine, who was not opposed to Christians, in 312 AD was about to go to war with Maxentius for control of the western Roman empire. He and his army, on route to battle, saw “a cross of light in the heavens above the sun bearing the inscription, CONQUER BY THIS”. Later, Christ appeared to him in a dream and told him to adopt the cross instead of the Roman eagle as his standard. This he did placing the labarum on his army’s shields (chapters 28 – 31, The life of Constantine by Eusebius in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers). Five months later Constantine and Licinius (who ruled the eastern empire) issued the edict of Milan, Italy, making Christianity legal and restoring confiscated property to the Christians. In 353 Contantius, Constantine’s son, ordered all pagan temples closed as did emperor Theodosius (379 – 396 AD), who also declared Christianity to be the faith of the empire. Emperor Justinian (527 – 565) took away the civil rights of the unbaptized. The Christian population of the empire went from about one tenth to nine tenths during this period.

 

sun became black as sackcloth – The “sun” is probably the church here. See notes above on Jer4:23 and Rev12:1 below. – “You are the light of the world.”Mt5:14 - Concurrent with the rise of Constantine was the rise of the Arian confusion. Arius, a priest, denied the divinity of Christ and gained followers, some of them relatives of Constantine, his successors in the east (Constantius and Valens) and many clergy who taught this error thus obscuring the light of faith.

 

moon became as blood – “God made two great lights – the greater to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.”Gen1:16 – The function of the moon is then to “govern” as is civil authority which it probably represents here. A “blood” colored “moon” likely indicates civil strife or revolution. On Oct 28th, 312, Constantine routed Maxentius’ troops at the Milvian bridge on the Tiber River. Maxentius and many others were killed. In 323 after a series of battles he defeated Licinius who had declared war on him after failing to live up to the edict of Milan

 

13 And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind:

 

stars from heaven fell upon the earth – Daniel uses a similar metaphor to predict the terror of Antiochus Epiphanes and resulting apostasy described in the books of Machabees. - “another horn, a little one, which grew exceedingly great towards the south, toward the east, and toward the beautiful land. It grew as high as the host of heaven. It threw down to the earth the starry host and trampled on them. Even against the prince of the host it acted arrogantly; it took away the regular burnt offering from him and overthrew the place of the sanctuary. Because of wickedness, the host was given over to it together with the regular burnt offering; it cast truth to the ground, and kept prospering at what it did.”Dan8:9-12 – In 360 when Constantius, sole emperor at this time due to the death of Constans, Constantine’s other son, convoked the councils at Selucia (Asia Minor) and Rimini (Italy) probably more than half the hierarchy were Arians.

 

14 And the heaven departed as a book folded up: and every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places.

 

book folded up – The New American Bible translates this as – ‘heaven was divided as a torn scroll curling up’ – The division or schism between Orthodox and Latin rites in the church seems to be recorded here. In 378 when Valens, an Arian and ruler of the east, was killed in battle with the Goths, Gratian a Christian and ruler of the west became the sole ruler of the empire. The eastern church was at that time Arian.

 

mountain – Mountain most likely denotes nations here. – “you made my mountain stand firm”Ps30:7 – “Of David” – “Babylon … I am against you, O destroying mountain”Jer51:24, 25 – “Woe to you … Who feel secure on Mount Sameria”Am6:1

 

every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places – Indicates probably the rearrangement of national boundaries as to their government within the Roman empire such as occurred under Constantine when he wrested the government of Italy and North Africa and later taking of the eastern empire from Licinius.

 

15 And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains: 16 And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb:17 For the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?

 

 

Chapter 7

The number of them that were marked with the seal of the living God and clothed in white robes.

 

1 After these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that they should not blow upon the earth, nor upon the sea, nor on any tree.

 

four winds – “I will bring against Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the heavens; I will scatter them to the four winds, and there will not be a nation where Elam’s exiles do not go.”Jer49:36 – “I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea.”Dan7:2 – “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet cal, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”Mt24:31 – As in Zechariah 6 (see notes in chapter 6 above) these are destructive nations or empires.

 

earth – The place where those fallen from the heavens (Arians) go. – “How has the Lord in his anger has humiliated the Daughter Zion! He has thrown from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel” – “it threw some of the starry host down to the earth”Dan8:10

 

sea – “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud.”Isa57:20 – “They are … wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame”Jude1:13 – Oh, the raging of many nations – they rage like the raging sea! Oh, the uproar of the peoples – they roar like the roaring of great waters!”Isa17:12

 

tree – “All the trees of the field will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall.”Ezek17:24 – “the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves.”Judg9:8-15 – The tree you saw, which grew large and strong … you, O king, are that tree!”Dan4:20-22 – “For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up and high; against all the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up; and against all the oaks of Bashan”Isa2:12, 13 – Humanity in general (earth and sea) with leaders of church and state (trees) are about to be chastised.

 

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign 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,

 

ascending from the rising of the sun – The “sun” that “turned black like sackcloth”Rev6:12 is now “rising” i.e. becoming brighter as the anti-Arian forces in the church assert themselves. Constantius, the Arian’s chief apostle, died in 361 and the pagan emperor, Julian permitted exiled anti-Arian bishops to return to their sees. In 362 at the Council of Paris the western bishops reaffirmed their belief in the one God – the Nicene Creed. In 380 Gratian and Theodosius, rulers of the eastern and western empire, issued an edict of uniformity which abolished all toleration of Arianism.

 

In 362 the apostate emperor Julian gathered “Jews” from “throughout the world” (The Ecclesiastical History, Dialogues and Letters of Theodoret, book 3, chapter15 in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers) to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem hoping thereby to “falsify the prediction of the Lord” (ibid.) that “not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down”Mt24:2 – “On this occasion Cyril bishop of Jerusalem … predicted in the presence of many persons, that the time had indeed come in which one stone should not be left upon another … on the night following, a mighty earthquake tore up the stones of the old foundation of the temple and dispersed them all together with the adjacent edifices.” (The Ecclesiastical History of Socrates Scholasticus, chapter 20 in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers)

 

3 Saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads.

 

sign the servants … in their foreheads – “Go through th midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem: and mark Thau upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and mourn for all the abominations that are committed in the midst thereof.”Ezek9:4 – Thau – the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is the form of a cross. This incident most likely prefigures the signing or sealing of the new covenant. – “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts”2Cor1:21,22 – “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit”Eph1:13 – “When Paul placed his hands on them, The Holy Spirit came on them”Acts19:6 – “Peter and John laid their hands on them and the received the Holy Spirit”Acts8:17 – This ‘laying on of hands’ or ‘sealing’ by a bishop is the sacrament of Confirmation.

 

4 And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda, were twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Ruben, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Gad, twelve thousand signed: 6 Of the tribe of Aser, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Nephthali, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Manasses, twelve thousand signed: 7 Of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Levi, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand signed: 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Joseph, twelve thousand signed: Of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand signed.


hundred forty-four thousand – Various miracles eventually stopped the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. “Fire came down from heaven and consumed all the builders tools …  luminous impressions of a cross appeared imprinted on their garments” (Socrates Scholasticus as above) – “a vast multitude of them” (Jews) “went on with the work all day, but by night the earth which had been carried away shifted back from the ravine of its own accord … fire running from the excavated foundations burnt up most of the diggers  and put the rest to  flight  …  the sign of the cross of  salvation was seen brightly shining in the sky” (Theodoret, ibid.).  –  “What was the result of all this? Such great consternation at the spectacle that nearly all, as by one signal and by one voice, invoked the God of the Christians and propitiated  Him with many  praises and  supplications: whilst many without further delay, but at the moment of the  occurrence  ran up  to  our priests, and  besought  them  earnestly that they might be made  members  of the Church”  (Gregory  Nazianzen’s Second Invective Against the Emperor Julian in Julian the Emperor by CW King). See also The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen, book 5, chapter 22. 


 

9 After this I saw a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne, and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb.11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, 12 Saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the ancients answered, and said to me: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? and whence came they? 14 And I said to him: My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me: These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

 

great tribulation – The early Christian persecutions are here indicated. See note on Rev6:8 above.

 

15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them. 16 They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat.

 

no more hunger nor thirst – “the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow”Isa25:6 – “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”Jn6:33 – “whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”Jn4:13 – “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirst.”Jn6:35

 

sun (won’t) fall on them – Internal strife in the church has, for a time, been quieted making it a happier place.

 

nor any heat – Persecution, probably denoted here, has subsided also. – “Other seed fell on rocky ground … But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away … when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.”Mt13:5, 6, 21 – “You have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm driving against a wall and like the heat of a desert. You silence the uproar of foreigners; as heat is reduced by the shadow of a cloud, so the song of the ruthless is stilled.”Isa25:4,5 – “the east wind shall come, a blast from the Lord … and his fountain shall dry up”Hos13:15 – The 734 BC Assyrian takeover of Samaria is predicted. – “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people”Jer4:11 – The “scorching wind” most likely refers to the Babylonian oppression from about 605 BC.

 

17 For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

 

fountains of the waters of life – The sources of grace are what is indicated. See notes on Rev8:10 below

 

God shall wipe away all tears – “The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces … In that day they will say, ‘Surely this is our God we trusted in him and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.’”Isa25:8,9 – “Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.”Ps97:11 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”Phil4:4

 

Lord, forgive us our sadness here. David was only allowed to eat the bread of the old covenant – the loaves of proposition (Mt12:3, 4 - Mk2:25.26 &1 Kings21:4-6) which sat outside the sanctuary (That part of the tabernacle, which was without the veil, into which the priests alone daily entered). He danced before the ark of the covenant when it was carried in procession (2Kings6:12-14), and us, ungrateful sinners, can enter, not only the sanctuary but beyond the veil into the holy of holies where the ark of the covenant is kept (that part which was within the veil, into which no one but the high priest ever went, and he but once a year) (Ex26:33) every day and even into the ark and eat the Manna of heaven. We should indeed dance.

 

 

Chapter 8

The seventh seal is opened. The angels with the seven trumpets.

 

1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven, as it were for half an hour.

 

silence … for half an hour – The period of peace described in chapter 7 is short lived.

 

2 And I saw seven angels standing in the presence of God; and there were given to them seven trumpets. 3 And another angel came, and stood before the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the throne of God.

 

angel … having  a golden censer – This is possibly Christ himself. – “Behind the second curtain was a tent called the Holy of Holies. In it stood the golden altar of incense”Heb9:3 – “Only the high priest goes into the second”Heb9:7 – “we do have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens”Heb8:1

 

incense – “let yourselves … offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”1Pet:2:5 – “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”Eph5:1,2 – “I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”Phil4:18

 

4 And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angel. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth, and there were thunders and voices and lightnings, and a great earthquake.

 

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast it on the earth – “The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, ‘Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with the burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.”Ezek10:2 – This ‘man … in linen’ is the same that in Ezekiel 9 put the mark of “Thau” (see note on Rev7:2 above) on the foreheads of those not to killed in the July, 586 BC siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (2Kings25:2,3). The significance then of the act of throwing “fire from the altar … on the earth” in both cases would seem to be that the earth now becomes the altar and men the burnt offering or holocaust. See Rev8:7 below and notes.

 

thunders … voices … lightnings – Sad experience is here followed by enlightenment. This is the reverse of what happens in Rev4:5 – see notes.

 

earthquake – See note on Rev6:12.

 

6 And the seven angels, who had the seven trumpets, prepared themselves to sound the trumpet. 7 And the first angel sounded the trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast on the earth, and the third part of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

 

hail – “See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind”Isa28:2 – This refers to the king of Assyria, Sennacherib. – “In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury.”Ezek13:13 – Pointing probably to the army of Nebuchadnezzar. See note on verse 5 above. Troops and hail have a like effect on crops.

 

“For news that the hordes of Huns had poured forth all the way from Maeotis (they had their haunts between the icy Tannis and the rude Masagetae where the gates of Alexander keep back the wild peoples behind the Caucauses); and that, speeding hither and thither on their nimble horses, they were filling the world with panic and bloodshed … Everywhere their approach was unexpected, they outstripped rumour in speed, and when they came they spared neither religion nor rank nor age, even for the wailing of infants they had no pity.” (St. Jerome: Letters and Select Works, letter 77 in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers) – “I shudder to think of the catastrophes of our time. For twenty years and more the blood of Romans has been shed daily between Constantinople and the Julian Alps. Scythia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dardania, Dacia, Thessaly, Achia, Epirus, Dalmatia, the Panonias – each and all of these have been sacked and pillaged and plundered by Goths and Sarmatians, Quades and Alans, Huns and Vandals and Marchmen.” (St. Jerome: Letters and Select Works, letter 60, ibid.)

 

fire, mingled with blood – The “fire” here referring to general oppression as well as real fire. See note above on Rev7:16. – “How many of God’s matrons and virgins, virtuous and noble ladies have been made the sport of these brutes! Bishops have been made captive; priests and those of the minor orders have been put to death. Churches have been overthrown, horses have been stabled by the altars of Christ, the relics of the martyrs have been dug up. ‘Mourning and fear abound on every side and death appears in countless shapes and forms’ (Virgil). The Roman world is falling … But lo! In the year just gone by the wolves … were let loose on us from the remotest fastnesses of the Caucausus and in a short time overran these great provinces. What a number of monasteries they captured! What many rivers they caused to run red with blood! They lay siege to Antioch and invested other cities on the Halys, the Cyndus, the Orontes and the Euphrates. They carried off troops of captives.”(ibid.)

 

third part of the trees was burnt up - “The records of the time, scanty as they are, show us how valuable was the experience of Roman officials to princes who from leaders of tribes had become rulers of wide lands; and in particular how indispensable the aid of the Christian bishops, the intellectual aristocracy of their new subjects, whose advice could alone guide the policy of the conqueror and secure the goodwill of the vanquished.” (p.19,The Holy Roman Empire by James Bryce D.C.L.)

 

all green grass was burnt up – As usual, the common people bear the brunt of the oppressor’s wrath. Ezekiel predicts in similar terms the results of the 588 BC siege of Jerusalem. – “the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to set fire to you, and it will consume all your trees, both green and dry. The blazing flame will not be quenched, and every face from south to north will be scorched by it.”Ezek20:47 – “the noise of the aliens” is “like heat in a dry place”Isa25:5 – “Surely the people are grass.”Isa40:7 – “You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like new grass of the morning – through the morning it springs up new, in the evening it is dry and withered.”Ps90:5, 6

 

8 And the second angel sounded the trumpet: and as it were a great mountain, burning with fire, was cast into the sea, and the third part of the sea became blood:

 

great mountain – “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments” – This event marked the beginning of the Jewish theocracy. Islam also advocates a theocratic state. – “’I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who destroy the whole earth’, declares the Lord. ‘I will stretch out my hand against you, roll you off the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.’”Jer51:25 –Babylon, an enemy of God’s people, is told of her destruction at the hands of the Medes and their allies - Jer51:28. – “As fire consumes the forest or as flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your storm.”Ps83:14, 15 – This curse is pronounced against a coalition of nations described in this psalm – Ps83:5-8. Such a coalition against the Jews is not mentioned in the Bible but did occur after the death of Mohamed in 632 AD under the banner of Islam.


sea – See note above, Rev7:1.

 

third part of the sea became blood – The portion of the wicked affected. A red sea would denote wars and revolts as the red moon in Rev6:12. – “A rude and confused chaos of crimes required the deliberation of many days; an inveterate malady demanded a sharp remedy … For they” (Muslims) “long since, oh, sad reproach to Christians have seized Syria, Armenia and lastly all Asia Minor … and now they insolently domineer over Ilyricum, and the higher countries even to the sea which is called the Straits of St. George. Nay, they usurp even the sepulchre of our Lord, that singular assurance of faith, and sell to our pilgrims admissions to that city … They inhabit Asia, the third portion of the world, as their native soil … there, at the present day, the Christians survive, sustaining life by a wretched kind of agriculture, pay these miscreants tribute, and even, with stifled sighs, long for participation of your liberty, since the have lost their own. They hold Africa also, another quarter of the world already possessed by their arms for more than two hundred years … Even this small portion of the world, belonging to us, the Turks and Saracens oppress. Thus for three hundred years, Spain and the Baleoric Isles being subject to them.” (words of Pope Urban II preaching the 1st crusade in 1095 from The History of the Crusades for the Recovery and Possession of the Holy Land by Charles Mills, vol. 1,chpt. 2, p.45-48)

 

9 And the third part of those creatures died, which had life in the sea, and the third part of ships was destroyed.

 

third part of those creatures died – One “third” of the Christians who left the church during this period are “in the sea” rather than in the “ships” (Church – see note below) and so subject to spiritual death. Initially Islam was more tolerant of Christians and Jews.

 

ships was destroyed – The position of the ships in this picture relative to the sea would mark them as individual churches. – Our Lord, while on earth, fished from a boat – Lk5:4, traveled by boat – Mk8:13, slept on a boat – Mk4:38 and taught the people and his disciples from a boat – Lk5:3. - “ Distressing news has come to us … that the people of the Persian kingdom … a generation … whose spirit was not steadfast with God, has invaded Christian lands and devastated them with the sword, pillage and fire, some of these Christians have been made captive and taken to Persia, and some have been tortured to death. Many of God’s churches have been violated and others made to serve their own religious rites … What shall I say of the abominable rape of women? … Who shall avenge these wrongs, who shall recover these lands if not you?” (Pope Urban II from The Dream and the Tomb by Robert Payne, p. 33,34)

 

10 And the third angel sounded the trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch, and it fell on the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters:

 

great star – Possibly a bishop or metropolitan is referred to here. Read Rev 1:20 & 3:1 above with notes.

 

burning as it were a torch – “For wickedness is kindled as a fire: it shall devour the brier and the thorn: and shall kindle in the thicket of the forest: and it shall be wrapped up in smoke ascending on high.”Isa9:18 – Towards the end of 1052 AD the patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius, closed churches of the Latin rite there and threw the consecrated hosts on the streets – not a small thing to a real Catholic.

 

fell – As in Dan 8:10 and Lam 2:1 apostasy is indicated.

 

rivers … fountains of waters – Just as rivers and fountains are the sources of water necessary for physical life, the Church is the immediate source via the word, sacraments and sacramentals of that water (grace) needed for spiritual life. “You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain … a well of flowing water”Song4:12-15 – Here the word “bride” means the church, “locked” and “sealed” alludes to the special helps or graces reserved only for those in the church. – “Come, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”Rev21:9 – “They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.”Ps36:8

 

11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

 

Wormwood – Wormwood is a bitter plant. The absence of graces and blessings is probably what it symbolizes. In the Old Testament wormwood is given as a punishment for disobedience and false prophets. – “Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice … I am feeding this people with wormwood, and giving them poisonous water to drink”Jer9:13-15 – “I have seen the likeness of adulterers, and the way of lying in the prophets of Jerusalem: and they strengthened the hands of the wicked, that no man should return from his evil doings: they are all become to me as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts to the prophets: Behold I will feed them” (the inhabitants) “with wormwood, and give them gall to drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem corruption is gone forth into all the land.”Jer23:14,15 “… for you have perverted the words of the living God”Jer23:36 – Cerularius taught that unleavened bread made the Eucharist invalid although our Lord had used it when he instituted the Sacrament (Mt26:17 & Ex12:15). – Moses and Elisha, who were real prophets, made bad water good (Ex15:25 & 2Kings2:19-22) but this is a false prophet.

 

third part of the waters – The portion of the Church that become like the “great star”Rev8:10 is here noted. – Three legates from Rome were dispatched to Constantinople (among them the future Pope Steven IX). When Cerularius refused to see them they placed the anathema (1Cor16:22 & Gal1:8,9) or letter of excommunication of Cerularius, his chancellor, the Metropolitan of Bulgaria and their followers (the Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem later sided with them) on the altar of St. Sophia and shaking the dust from their feet left the city. – “every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses … if the offender refuses to listen even to Church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”Mt18:16,17 – Because of support from the Greeks the Patriarch retained his position even after his excommunication on July15, 1054 AD. This incident formalized the Orthodox schism which had its origins in the Arian confusion.

 

many men died of the waters – The anathema, sometimes called “the spiritual death”, is the ultimate penal measure in the Church and has very real effects. Under the old Code of Canon Law ( before 1983) the excommunicate was deprived of the special helps and graces of the sacraments and sacramentals, (CIC c.1257.1), excluded from the benefits of indulgences, suffrages, and the public prayers of the Church (CIC c.2262.1). Excommunicated clergy could not lawfully (without being guilty of sin) perform ecclesiastical functions (CIC c.2263) such as the celebration of the mass and administering sacraments. See The New Catholic Encyclopaedia, Vol. 5, p.707.

 

12 And the fourth angel sounded the trumpet, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars, so that the third part of them was darkened, and the day did not shine for a third part of it, and the night in like manner.

 

third part … sun … moon … stars … was darkened – The moon or civil authority reflects light from the sun. A diminishing of the Church’s (sun) and its members (stars) light or influence over government and the world is probably what is indicated here. Such was indeed the case during the great western schism (1378 – 1417). From 1409 to 1417 there were no less than three claimants to the chair of Peter. This confusion was finally cleared up at the Council of Constance in 1418 with the election of Pope Martin V after the resignation of the real pope, Gregory XII, but resulted in a loss of credibility, in the eyes of many people, from which the Church has yet to recover.

 

13 And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth: by reason of the rest of the voices of the three angels, who are yet to sound the trumpet.

 

Woe, woe, woe – A series of disasters is here predicted beginning with the Reformation.

 

 

Chapter 9

Locusts come forth from the bottomless pit. The vision of the army of horsemen.

 

1 And the fifth angel sounded the trumpet, and I saw a star fall from heaven upon the earth, and there was given to him the key of the bottomless pit.

 

a star fall from heaven – Has someone else left the Church? John Wycliffe (who’s teachings, similar but before Calvins, were condemned by the council of London -1382), John Hus (excommunicated in 1411) and Martin Luther (excommunicated in 1521) were all priests. Luther, however, was given free rein by civil authorities to preach his doctrines (“smoke”).

 

1 "A star fall" ... This may mean the fall and apostasy of great and learned men from the true faith. Or a whole nation falling into error and separating from the church, not having the sign of God in their foreheads. "The key of the bottomless pit" ... That is, to the angel, not to the fallen star. To this angel was given the power, which is here signified by a key, of opening hell.

 

2 And he opened the bottomless pit: and the smoke of the pit arose, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke of the pit.

 

the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke – The smoke here spoken of is error which fills the air (without which conversation is impossible) eclipsing the sun which is the “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth”1Tim3:15. The source of this smoke is the “pit” or hell.

 

3 And from the smoke of the pit there came out locusts upon the earth. And power was given to them, as the scorpions of the earth have power:

 

locusts – From this diabolical confusion new creatures take form. They are symbolically called locusts; indicating their propensity to destroy the harvest – souls. Nahum3:15-17 compares the population of Nineveh (a city which once repented but later returned to their sins) to locusts.

 

3 "There came out locusts" ... These may be devils in Antichrist's time, having the appearance of locusts, but large and monstrous, as here described. Or they may be real locusts, but of an extraordinary size and monstrous shape, such as were never before seen on earth, sent to torment those who have not the sign (or seal) of God on their foreheads. Some commentators by these locusts understand heretics, and especially those heretics, that sprung from Jews, and with them denied the divinity of Jesus Christ; as Theodotus, Praxeas, Noetus, Paul of Samosata, Sabellius, Arius, etc. These were great enemies of the Christian religion; they tormented and infected the souls of men, stinging them like scorpions, with the poison of their heresies. Others have explained these locusts, and other animals, mentioned in different places throughout this sacred and mystical book, in a most absurd, fanciful, and ridiculous manner; they make Abaddon the Pope, and the locusts to be friars mendicant, etc. Here it is thought proper, not to enter into any controversy upon that subject, as the inventors of these fancies have been already answered, and fully refuted by many controvertists: besides, those who might be inposed on by such chimerical writers, are in these days much better informed.

 

4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree: but only the men who have not the sign of God on their foreheads.

 

hurt … only the men who have not the sign of God on their foreheads – They have power to hurt only those who are not confirmed – non Catholics. See note on Rev7:2

.

5 And it was given unto them that they should not kill them; but that they should torment them five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man.

 

torment of a scorpion – This sting is not often fatal. “'Where, O death, is your victory?' The sting of death is sin”1Cor15:55,56 & Hos13:14 – Freedom from sin is not to be found in error for only “the truth will set you free”Jn8:32 and so men and women suffer fo “five months” (a short time) remorse of conscience, which can be quite painful. Five months is also the approximate life span of a locust.

 

6 And in those days men shall seek death, and shall not find it: and they shall desire to die, and death shall fly from them.

 

they shall desire to die – to the devil, the world and the flesh but this Christian death (1Cor15:31) shall elude them

 

7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared for battle: and on their heads were, as it were, crowns like gold: and their faces were as the faces of men.

 

horses prepared for battle – Denotes the warlike characteristics of these creatures – the wars to follow.

 

crowns like gold – These are pseudo-spiritual leaders. The “elders”, the real spiritual leaders of the Church, wear real “crowns of gold”Rev4:4

 

faces of men – The heads of these creatures are indeed human.


8 And they had hair as the hair of women; and their teeth were as lions:

 

hair of women – This indicates an emotional rather than rational nature.

 

teeth were as lions – The heads of these creatures are kings or civil rulers. “A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion; he who angers him forfeits his life.”Prov20:2 - “I” (the Lord} “will be a lion … like a great lion”Hos5:14 - “take up a lament concerning Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: You are a lion among the nations”Ezek32:2 - “Her officials” (Assyria's) “are roaring lions”Zeph3:3

 

9 And they had breastplates as breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was as the noise of chariots and many horses running to battle.

 

breastplates of iron – They have steeled themselves against truth and reason.

 

noise of their wings (like) … chariots … horses – That which upholds locusts is their wings. Armies uphold these creatures.

 

10 And they had tails like to scorpions, and there were stings in their tails; and their power was to hurt men five months. 

 

tails like to scorpions - “So the Lord will cut off from Israel both the head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day – the elders and prominent men are the head, the prophets who teach lies are the tail.”Isa9:14,15 & 19:15 – The creatures (head and tail) described by Isiah are the leaders of Israel and Egypt respectively. Likewise in Revelation political animals are described.

 

“Luther … After he had … set himself against the Roman position, he began to organize his followers into a new church. He had discarded the original constitution of the Catholic Church, and had preached the “universal priesthood” of all the faithful; logically he now turned over to the individual congregations the management of their ecclesiastical affairs and gave supreme control over all the congregations into the hands of civil rulers. From now on, freedom of conscience was a privilege enjoyed only by secular rulers; the subjects had to believe what he believed – cuius regio, eius religio. Religion was delivered over to the state. Not the bishops as successors to the Apostles” (see Irenaeus Against Heresies, AD 182 – 188, book 3, chapter 3, paragraph 1, The Ante-Nicene Fathers) “but the princes as absolute masters of their subjects ruled the Church. Before long, nearly every petty principality in central and northern Germany had its own ' State Church', with the landgrave, margrave, duke, grand-duke, elector, or prince as its chief bishop.” (p. 429, Church History by Rev. John Laux, M.A.) - Luther lived to see Sweden under King Christian III, England under Henry VIII (1531) and Scotland under the Earl of Arran (1541) form state churches. Iceland(1551) and Holland under William of Orange (1572) later entered the fold.

 

“The scribes and the Pharisees have sitten on the chair of Moses.” (as the pope and bishops in communion with him sit on the chair of Peter) “All things therefore whatsoever they say to you, observe and do”Mt23:2, 3

 

11 And they had over them a king, the angel of the bottomless pit; whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek Apollyon; in Latin Exterminans,

 

And they had over them a king – It is quite certain that we are not dealing with grasshoppers here. - “locust have no king”Pr30:27

 

12 One woe is past, and behold there come yet two woes more hereafter. 13 And the sixth angel sounded the trumpet: and I heard a voice from the four horns of the great altar, which is before the eyes of God,

 

two woes more hereafter – A series of wars follow.

 

four horns of the great altar - “it has been handed down to us that the unbloody altar of God signifies the assembly of the chaste … the golden altar within the Holy of holies … has reference to those in a state of virginity” (Banquet of the Ten Virgins by Methodius, chapters 6 to 8 in The Ante-Nicene Fathers) – During the reformation many religious were killed. Many others were expelled from convents and monasteries. The “voice” here is most likely a cry for help, which God answers with the chaos, which follows, from which God knows how to draw order.

 

14 Saying to the sixth angel, who had the trumpet: Loose the four angels, who are bound in the great river Euphrates.

 

four angels – “These are the four winds of heaven, which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth.”Zech6:5 – Here as in Daniel and Jeremiah they are destructive agents. See notes on Rev 7:1.

 

Euphrates – “Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah (waters in Jerusalem – the Church) “and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah,” (an alliance was made between Syria and Samaria in 735 BC against Juda) “therefore the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the river” (Euphrates) “The king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks and shall sweep on into Judah … passing through it and reaching up to the neck.”Isa8:6-8 – Assyria defeated Syria and Israel in 732 and in 701 took all the cities in Juda. A similar historical scenario is being pointed to here. Because the nations have rejected the Church, trusting in foreign alliances (those outside the Church), domination by various foreign powers is imposed on them as follows.

 

15 And the four angels were loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year: for to kill the third part of men.

 

hour … day … month … year – A specific and important moment in history. - “Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion come first” (read notes on Rev8:8 to 9:11) “and the lawless one be revealed, the one destined for destruction … Do you not remember that I told you of these things when I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him,” (the Roman empire – see notes below) “so that he” (the Anti-Christ) “may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it” (the Roman emperor) “is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed”2Thess2:3-8 – This text, obscure in itself, has been interpreted in the same manner by St. Ambrose (in 2 Ep. Ad Galat.), by St. Jerome (quaest. 2 ad Algarium), by St. Chrysostom (hom. 4 in hanc haeres, C. 25 et 26). All the fathers hold as apostolic tradition that St. Paul wished to designate the Roman Empire in the passage above … Tertullian (in Apologet, C. 32) says that Christians pray for the preservation of the empire, the ruin of which would entail so many frightful disasters.” (p.53,The History of Anti-Christ by Rev. P. Huchede.)

 

“When Rome the head of the world shall have fallen, who can doubt that the end of human things, aye, of the earth itself. She alone is the state by which all things are up held even until now; wherefore le us make prayers and supplications to the God of heaven, if indeed his decrees and purposed can be delayed, that the hateful tyrant come not sooner than we look for, he for whom are reserved fearful deeds, who shall pluck out the eye in whose extinction the world itself shall perish.” (Lactantius, a contemporary of Constantine as quoted on p.21 of The Holy Roman Empire by James Bryce). Napoleon’s victories over Russia and Austria bought about the abdication of the last Holy Roman emperor, Francis II on Aug 6th, 1806 (p.1, 415, 447).

 

16 And the number of the army of horsemen was twenty thousand times ten thousand. And I heard the number of them.

 

twenty thousand times ten thousand – Foot soldiers probably add to this 200 million.

 

17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: and they that sat on them, had breastplates of fire and hyacinth and of brimstone, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions: and from their mouths proceeded fire, and smoke, and brimstone.

 

fire, and smoke, and brimstone – These words concisely describe modern warfare – cause and effect. The fires of hatred give rise to the fires of napalm and nuclear devices. Lies engender the smoke of battle and chemical warfare while the brimstone of the modern ballistic arsenal punishes immorality.

 

18 And by these three plagues was slain the third part of men, by the fire and by the smoke and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths, and in their tails. For, their tails are like to serpents, and have heads: and with them they hurt.

 

heads … tails – These creatures with “heads of lions”Rev9:17 and “tails like to serpents” are probably as in Isaiah (see notes on verse 8 above) political animals past and present – quite probably some of the countries here mentioned after dropping the mask of religion; their tails, as above, false prophets – their propaganda apparatus.

 

20 And the rest of the men, who were not slain by these plagues, did not do penance from the works of their hands, that they should not adore devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 Neither did they penance from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their fornication, nor from their thefts.

 

 

Chapter 10

The cry of a mighty angel. He gives John a book to eat.

 

1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was on his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.


mighty angel – a priest (see note on Rev1:20) with special power – a bishop or possibly a pope

 

clothed with a cloud – indicates possibly that he lives in inclement times

 

rainbow – The rainbow is a harbinger of better times (Ezek1:28)

 

face … as the sun … feet as pillars of fire – St. Malachy (The Prophecies of St. Malachy by Peter Bander), in his short, prophetic hints about the popes from Celestine II (1143) to the last “Petrus Romanus” (Peter the Roman) supplies us with some possible candidates some of which I’ll list in order of time:

 

-         “Luman in Coelo” (a light in the sky) which probably points to the star in the coat  of arms of Leo XIII (1878 – 1903).

 

-         “Ignis Araens” (the burning fire) – Pious X (1903 – 1914) and his zeal for the spiritual renewal of the Church.

 

-         “De Medietate Lunae” (of the half moon) - John Paul I reigned for less than a month.

 

-         “De Labore Solis” (of the labour of the Sun) – John Paul II is the match since this prophecy follows the former. The work of the sun is to enlighten. This is indeed the case with this “angel”. Not only with his “face” does he do this but also with his “legs”. – “you led them by day with a pillar of a cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire, to give them light on the way in which they should go.”Neh9:12

 

-         “Gloria Olivae” (the glory of the olive) – St. Benedict's order, The Benedictines are also called Olivetans. The last pope was Benedict XV.

 

-         “Petrus Romanus” (Peter the Roman) – This present pope Francis, who as listed by St. Malachy is the last, is of Italian or Roman descent.

 

2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot upon the earth.

 

little book open – This book is not sealed as is the book in Rev5:1. My thought is that this message is the one (the third secret) given to the child seers of Fatima in 1917. This, the miracle of the sun, was a big event witnessed by people for miles around. At the site of the apparitions alone there were about 70 thousand, believers and sceptics who saw the sun’s strange behaviour. For more information on this go to -http://www.fatima.org/essentials/message

 

upon the sea … upon the earth – His “face” enlightens “heaven” (the Church). With his “legs”, “pillars of fire”, he enlightens humanity in general, the “sea” and “earth”. The church with the help of this pope regains some of her influence in the world. The pontificate of John Paul II certainly fits this description; his election with accompanying political events, travels with media coverage, encyclicals and books – many of which along with the new Catechism of the Catholic Church are available from the secular book stores

 

3 And he cried with a loud voice as when a lion roareth. And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

 

lion – We are told here again that this “angel” has power or authority as does the pope.

 

4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying to me: Seal up the things which the seven thunders have spoken; and write them not.

 

Seal up the things which the seven thunders have spoken – Along with the “little book open”Rev10:2 the “seven thunders”, to most of us, remain a mystery. It seems very unlikely that John after leaving Patmos made known these things (“write them not”Rev10:4) and that they just somehow got lost.

 

5 And the angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And he swore by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things which are therein; and the earth, and the things which are in it; and the sea, and the things which are therein: That time shall be no longer.

 

time shall be no longer – “The time is accomplished, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.”Mk1:15

 

7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound the trumpet, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath declared by his servants the prophets.

 

7 "Declared" ... literally evangelized, to signify the good tidings, agreeable to the Gospel, of the final victory of Christ, and of that eternal life, which should be the reward of the temporal sufferings of the martyrs and faithful servants of God.

 

8 And I heard a voice from heaven again speaking to me, and saying: Go, and take the book that is open, from the hand of the angel who standeth upon the sea, and upon the earth. 9 And I went to the angel, saying unto him, that he should give me the book. And he said to me: Take the book, and eat it up: and it shall make thy belly bitter, but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as honey.

 

bitter … but … sweet – The book contains good news and bad news.

 

10 And I took the book from the hand of the angel, and ate it up: and it was in my mouth, sweet as honey: and when I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. 11 And he said to me: Thou must prophesy again to many nations, and peoples, and tongues, and kings.

 

Thou must prophesy again – “If I want him” (the apostle John) “to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”Jn21:22 – “we have no relics of the holy apostle and … singular things are said of his disappearance. He is said to have shut himself up in a tomb and then ordered those present to retire; when his disciples returned on the following day, the could find no trace of him, and since that time he has never been heard from. These facts show that St. John rather disappeared than died … St. Hippolytus (de Cons. Mundi.), St. Ambrose (in Luc. 7), Simeon Metaphraste (in Vita Joan), with others sustain this opinion, however, Eusebius (Lib3. Hist. C. 31), St. Jerome (Hieron, Lib. De Sciptura, Eccles. et contra Jovin.), Tertullian (Lib. de Anim. 20), … St. Isadore (Lib. de Vita et Obitu Sanct.), and St. Epiphanes (Haeres, 78), maintain that St. John is dead” (p. 31,32  The History of Anti-Christ). In lieu of the actual return of St. John there is one other possibility – a latter day prophet “in the spirit and power”Lk1:17 of St. John. – “John the Baptist … is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.”Mt11:12-15

 

 

Chapter 11

He is ordered to measure the temple. The two witnesses.

 

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and it was said to me: Arise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar and them that adore therein. 2 But the court, which is without the temple, cast out, and measure it not: because it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city they shall tread under foot two and forty months:

 

court … without the temple, cast out – A down-sizing of the Church is here indicated. - “And there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”Rev12:7-9 – See also Rev12:4 and Dan8:10.


holy city - Vatican city?


two and forty months – Forty-two months is equal to 1260 (42X30) days or 3½ (42/12) years. – See note on verse 3 below.

 

3 And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

 

two witnesses - “every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses”Math18:16 & Deut19:15

 

prophecy – These witnesses will prophecy.

 

'1260 days' - "Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and iniquity may be abolished; and everlasting justice may be brought; and vision and prophecy may be fulfilled ... he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week (7 years) and in the half a the week the victim and the sacrifice (probably the mass) shall fail: and there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation: even to the consummation, and to the end.”Dan9:24-27 – This probably indicates a seven year period (two 3 and a half-year periods) in the latter days which will “confirm” or strengthen ('purified, made spotless and refined'Dan12:10) the faith of "Many" by sufferings, and the example and preaching ('nourishment'Rev12:6) of holy witnesses. Only 69 of the 70 weeks of Dan 9 have been accounted for. See notes on Daniel - Rev1:15. – This is probably the first of those 3 and a half-year per periods.


two- "It is certain that neither Elias or Enoch are dead ... All the fathers are in perfect accord on this point and teach it as apostolic tradition; we shall quote here St. Ireneus (Lib.4, c.30). The disciples of the Apostles say that those who were carried off from this world otherwise than death were placed in a 'terrestial paradise'" (Eden? St. Hildegarde in her Scivias tells us that Eden still exists. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich goes on to tell us that it is hidden from view by a 'wall of light') "and that they will remain there until the end of the world in an incorruptible state ... To deny that Elias and Enoch will return in person would be, according to Bellarimine and Suarez, if not heterodoxy, at least erroneous. Their coming is announced by Sacred Scripture in four different places ... Enoch will preach to the Gentiles, whose faith and charity he will stir up and revive, while Elias, Jew by birth, will be charged with the conversion of the Jews." (p.28-30,32 – The History of Anti-Christ) - "On that day his feet" (the witnesses?) "will stand on the Mount of Olives"Zech14:4


3 "My two witnesses" ... It is commonly understood of Henoch and Elias.

 

4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks, that stand before the Lord of the earth.

 

"Henoch pleased God, and was translated into paradise, that he may give repentance to the nations." Ecclesiasticus or Sir44:16 - "Enoch walked with God then was seen no more, because God took him away."Gen5:24 - (Elias) "wast taken up in a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot of fiery horses. Who art registered in the judgments of times to appease the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob."Sir48:9, 10 - "To be sure, Elijah (Elias - Douay translation) comes and will restore all things"Mt17:11 - See also 2Kings 2:11, Mal4:5

 

olive trees ... candlesticks - Olive trees and candesticks are mentioned in Zechariah. - "What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?"Zech4:11 - Here the olive trees represent the ruling families of priests and kings. In this vision one tree represents Joshua the high priest (Zech4:12), a Levite, the other, Zerubbabel, the prince, a decendant of David (Zech4:6). These trees in turn do point to the prophets by whom they were anointed, with oil, and to whom they owe there existence (Ex29:7 & 1Sam16:13).

 

5 And if any man will hurt them, fire shall come out of their mouths, and shall devour their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, in this manner must he be slain. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and they have power over waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they will. 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast, that ascendeth out of the abyss, shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which is called spiritually, Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord also was crucified.

 

Sodom and Egypt - a place of immorality and oppression or captivity

 

where their Lord also was crucified - Indicating the location of the "great city", and possibly the manner of death of these witnesses of the world before and after the flood.

 

9 And they of the tribes, and peoples, and tongues, and nations, shall see their bodies for three days and a half: and they shall not suffer their bodies to be laid in sepulchres. 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry: and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the earth. 11 And after three days and a half, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them that saw them. 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them: Come up hither. And they went up to heaven in a cloud: and their enemies saw them. 13 And at that hour there was made a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell: and there were slain in the earthquake names of men seven thousand: and the rest were cast into a fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

 

great earthquake - "The Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south."Zech14:4, 10

 

14 The second woe is past: and behold the third woe will come quickly. 15 And the seventh angel sounded the trumpet: and there were great voices in heaven, saying: The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's and his Christ's, and he shall reign for ever and ever. Amen.

 

second woe – This woe ends with devastation of Jerusalem.

 

third woe – The next time the word woe appears in revelation is about the same time that the antichrist appears (Rev12:12).

 

The kingdom of this world is become our Lord's - "The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name."Zech14:9

 

16 And the four and twenty ancients, who sit on their seats in the sight of God, fell on their faces and adored God, saying: 17 We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who wast, and who art to come: because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and thou hast reigned. 18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest render reward to thy servants the prophets and the saints, and to them that fear thy name, little and great, and shouldest destroy them who have corrupted the earth. 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake, and great hail.

 

ark of his testament was seen in his temple - "The priests then brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple ... When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple."1Kings8:6,10 - This occurred at the dedication of Solomon's temple in 960 BC. - "Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked, and saw the glory of the Lord filling the temple of the Lord, and I fell facedown."Ezek44:4

 

earthquake, and great hail - Social upheaval (such as marked the conversion of Constantine) , an earthquake and war. See notes on Rev6:12 above and Rev16:18-21. - "In that day there shall be a great tumult from the Lord among them (all nations - Zech14:12) ... And even Juda shall fight against Jerusalem"Zech14:12-14 – “the mount of Olives shall be divided in the midst thereof to the east, and to the west with a very great opening, and half of the mountain shall be separated to the north, and half thereof to the south. And you shall flee to the valley of those mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next”Zech14:4, 5

 

 

Chapter 12

The vision of the women clothed with the sun and of the great dragon her persecutor

 

Events from the past (the birth of Christ and the fall of the angels) are used to describe the future in this chapter. – “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”Rev4:1

 

1 And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:

 

woman clothed with the sun – The church, the spouse of Christ, is here presented. – “Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in battle array?”Song6:9 – “For the Lord God is a sun and shield”Ps84:11

 

moon under her feet – Civil authority is subject to her. See notes on Rev6:12 above. – “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ”Rev12:10

 

crown of twelve stars – The “twelve” apostles are most likely indicated. – “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”Dan12:3

 

1 "A woman" ... The church of God. It may also, by allusion, be applied to our blessed Lady. The church is clothed with the sun, that is, with Christ: she hath the moon, that is, the changeable things of the world, under her feet: and the twelve stars with which she is crowned, are the twelve apostles: she is in labour and pain, whilst she brings forth her children, and Christ in them, in the midst of afflictions and persecutions.

 

2 And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered. 3 And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems:

 

great red dragon – We are told in Rev12:9 that this is “Satan” but of coarse this is an allegory (see note on Rev1:20). The beasts in chapters 13 and 17 are the same creature although there are differences and additional details. Chapters 12 and 13 show the beast at different points in history (see notes on Rev13:1, 2). Chapter 17 leaves us wondering about crowns on the heads and horns, which could indicate that they were variables over a period of time – the history of Babylon.

 

seven heads – This is the same beast that Daniel speaks of in chapter 7. - “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings.”Dan7:23,24 – “Daniel also says (in the words), ‘I considered the beast, and lo there were ten horns behind it, among which shall rise another (horn), an offshoot, and shall pluck up by the roots the three (that were) before it.’ And under this was signified none other than Antichrist, who is also himself to raise the kingdom of the Jews.  He says that three horns are plucked up by the root by him, viz., the three kings of Egypt, and Libya, and Ethiopia, whom he cuts off in the array of battle.” (St. Hyppolytus – wrote this about 235 AD) – “And he shall lay his hand upon the lands: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt: and he shall pass through Libya, and Ethiopia”Zech10:42,43 - “on its heads were blasphemous names”Rev13:1 – i.e. the heads are enemies of God and his Church, as is the whole animal – “beast … was covered with blasphemous names”Rev17:3 – The seven heads could then, quite reasonably, be the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Roman empires and lastly the empire of the Antichrist. All of these are enemies of the people of God.

 

ten – Possibly an approximate number as in Zechariah. – “In those days ten men from nations of every language shall take hold of a Jew”Zech8:23 – probably referring to the disciples of Jesus and their converts.

 

ten horns – “the ten horns … are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with (after) the beast.”Rev17:12 – This “dragon” then is most likely symbolic of the earthly dominion of “the prince of this world”Jn12:31 just as “stars” symbolized “angels” in Rev1:20.

 

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.

 

third part of the stars of heaven … cast … to the earth – As in Rev6:13 and Dan8:10 apostasy is here indicated. See notes on Rev11:2. – “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way; for that day” (“coming of our Lord”2Thess2:1) “will not come until the rebellion occurs”2Thess2:3

 

5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne.

 

man … to rule all nations – “A time will come when the enemies of Christ will boast: ‘We have subjected the earth and all its inhabitants, and the Christians cannot escape our hands.’ Then a Roman emperor will rise in great fury against them … Drawing his sword he will fall on the foes of Christianity and crush them. Then peace and quite will reign on earth” (St. Methodius – 385 AD, p.110, The Prophets and Our Times by Rev. RG Culleton). – “The Great French Monarch, who shall subject all the East, shall come around the end of the world.” (Hyppolitus – d. 235 AD, ibid.) – St. Cataldus of Tarantino (d. 500), St. Regimus (d. 535), St. Ceasar of Arles (543?), Merlin (7th Century), St. Hildegarde (d. 1179), St. Bridget (d. 1373), St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1418), St. Francis de Paul (d. 1470), Nostradamus (d. 1599) and St. John Bosco (d. 1888) all prophesied of a similar personage (ibid.)

 

“Who hatlh raised up the just one from the east, hath called him to follow him? … and he shall reign over kings”Isa41:25 – “I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come from the rising of the sun: he shall call upon my name, and he shall make princes of the earth to be as dirt”Isa41:25 – Some see the “one” mentioned in Isa 41 as being the king of Persia (559 – 530 BC) but details within the chapter seemed opposed to this interpretation. Cyrus, who worshipped a Babylonian god, mentioned by name in chapter 45, is most likely a figure or “likeness” of the “man child” or the “one”. “I have made a likeness of thee” (Cyrus) “and thou hast not known me”Isa45:4

 

6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred sixty days.

 

wilderness – “The Israelites had moved about the desert (wilderness) forty years”Jos5:6 – The desert was a place outside the promised land.

 

thousand two hundred sixty days – More information regarding this sojourn in the wilderness is given. – “she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time”Rev12:14 – This time is possibly the first half of Daniels missing week. See notes on Rev11:3.

 

7 And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: 8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of the testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you that dwell therein. Woe to the earth, and to the sea, because the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time. 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman, who brought forth the man child: 14 And there were given to the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert unto her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

 

two wings of a great eagle – “a great eagle with powerful wings”Ezek17:3,7 – The ‘eagles’ referred to in Ezekiel are Nebuchadnezzar and an Egyptian pharaoh. – “those who hope in the Lord … will soar on wings like eagles”Isa40:31 – “I am God … Who shew from the beginning the things that shall be last … Who call a bird from a far country the man of my own will”Isa46:9-11 – The eagle is apparently protecting the Church here. St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Vincent Ferrer refer to the latter day ruler (see notes on verse 5) as the “Eagle”.

 

15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman, water as it were a river; that he might cause her to be carried away by the river.

 

water – As elsewhere the “water” is a group of people. See note on Rev7:1. – “the Lord is about to bring against them the mighty flood of the River – the king of Assyria with all his pomp”Isa8:7 – “Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters.”Jer46:8 – “The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.”Rev17:15

 

16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the river, which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

 

earth opened her mouth – “the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up, with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol”Nu16:30 – The punishment of the community leaders who rebelled against Moses and Aaron, trying to usurp the priesthood, may prefigure this event.

 

17 And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 18 And he stood upon the sand of the sea.

 

 

Chapter 13

Of the beast with seven heads and of a second beast


1 And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten diadems, and upon his heads names of blasphemy.

 

beast - “And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there shall arise a king of a shameless face, and understanding dark sentences.”Dan8:23 – “And the Lord said to me: Take to thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For behold I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish that which standeth, and he shall eat the flesh of the fat ones, and break their hoofs.  O shepherd, and idol, that forsaketh the flock: the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.”Zech11:15-17 - “I am come in the name of my Father, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.”Jn5:43


horns – “The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; He will subdue three kings.”Dan7:24 – “He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt; with the Libyans and Nubians in submission.”Dan11:43

 

ten diadems – Diadems or crowns are on the horns and not the heads now (democratic countries?). This might indicate that Satan is although “prince of the world”Jn12:31 at this point in time he is not an absolute monarch. The “male child” who was “taken to God”, at this point in history, rules “all the nations”Rev12:5. See notes Rev12:5,14.

 

1 "A beast" ... This first beast with seven heads and ten horns, is probably the whole company of infidels, enemies and persecutors of the people of God, from the beginning to the end of the world. The seven heads are seven kings, that is, seven principal kingdoms or empires, which have exercised, or shall exercise, tyrannical power over the people of God; of these, five were then fallen, viz.: the Egyptian, Assyrian, Chaldean, Persian, and Grecian monarchies: one was present, viz., the empire of Rome: and the seventh and chiefest was to come, viz., the great Antichrist and his empire. The ten horns may be understood of ten lesser persecutors

 

2 And the beast, which I saw, was like to a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave him his own strength, and great power.

 

leopard ... bear … lion – This beast is an amalgam of the four beast in Daniel 7 (count the heads and horns). Like Daniels beast it “came up out of the sea”Dan7:3. It is swift and stealthy (leopard), powerful (bear) and ferocious (lion). The “toes”Dan3:4 of the statue and “horns”Dan7:7 of the beast in Daniel are the same as the beast here. - “as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron (Roman empire) shall be in it as you saw the iron mixed with clay. As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.” (strong and weak countries) “As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix, with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together,” (weaker family ties) “just as iron does not mix with clay,”Dan2:41-43

 

3 And I saw one of his heads as it were slain to death: and his death's wound was healed. And all the earth was in admiration after the beast.

 

one of his heads … was healed – The fatal wound to one of its heads which the beast received from the “male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter,”Rev12:5 is healed. It is at this point in time that the beast recovers its “seven”Rev12:3 crowns, and so begins the empire of the Antichrist.

 

3 "One of his heads" ... Some understand this of the mortal wound, which the idolatry of the Roman empire (signified by the sixth head) received from Constantine; which was, as it were, healed again by Julian the Apostate.

 

4 And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: Who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him? 5 And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies: and power was given to him to do two and forty months.

 

beast … was given … a  mouth – “This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth that spoke boastfully.”Dan7:8

 

two and forty months – .“He shall speak words against the Most High, shall crush the holy ones of the Most High, and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law; and they shall be given into his power for a time (1 year), two times (2 years) and half a time (½ a year)”Dan7:25 - “And I heard him swear by the One who lives forever that it would be for a time, two times, and a half a time, and that when the scattering of the holy people comes to and end, all these things would be accomplished.”Dan12:7 - This, most likely, the second 3 and a half-year (forty-two months) spoken of by Daniel. See notes on Rev11:3

 

6 And he opened his mouth unto blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

 

blasphemies – “He will speak against the Most High”Dan7:25 – “He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods.”Dan11

 

6 "His tabernacle"... That is, his church and his saints.

 

7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. And power was given him over every tribe, and people, and tongue, and nation.

 

“he … shall crush the saints of the Most High”Dan7:24

 

8 And all that dwell upon the earth adored him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, which was slain from the beginning of the world. 9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.

 

8 "Slain from the beginning" ... In the foreknowledge of God; and inasmuch as all mercy and grace, from the beginning, was given in view of his death and passion.

 

10 He that shall lead into captivity, shall go into captivity: he that shall kill by the sword, must be killed by the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints. 11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and it had two horns, like a lamb, and it spoke as a dragon.

 

beast … of the earth – This creature is not a catholic. It possibly comes from heretical sect like the Arians who denied the divinity of Christ.

 

two horns, like a lamb – The “horns” would probably be the sources of its powers as with ram in Dan8:7. “Lamb” most likely indicates that it gives the impression of innocence.

 

it spoke as a dragon – This could be either a male or female which parrots the devil (the word “angel” is not used to describe this creature).

 

11 "Another beast" ... This second beast with two horns, may be understood of the heathenish priests and magicians; the principal promoters both of idolatry and persecution.

 

12 And it executed all the power of the former beast in his sight; and it caused the earth, and them that dwell therein, to adore the first beast, whose wound to death was healed.

 

first beast – “The “mouth”Rev13:5 has, in effect, become the beast as it “was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation”Rev13:7 and is, most likely, responsive to Satan’s every whim.

 

13 And it did great signs, so that it made also fire to come down from heaven unto the earth in the sight of men.

 

great signs – “For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles, to deceive even the elect”Mt24:24 – “If a prophet or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods and worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commandments and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.”Deut13:1-5 – “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the works of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”2Thess2:9-12

 

14 And it seduced them that dwell on the earth, for the signs, which were given it to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make the image of the beast, which had the wound by the sword, and lived. 15 And it was given it to give life to the image of the beast, and that the image of the beast should speak; and should cause, that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast, should be slain.

 

image of the beast – “He” (“the man of lawlessness”) “will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”2Thess2:4 –‘for half of the week he shall make the sacrifice and offering cease; and in their place shall be an abomination that desolates,” (the image) “until the decreed end is poured out”Dan9:27 – “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1335 days.”Dan12:11,12 – “when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation’, spoken of through the prophet Daniel – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains … then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now … and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive”Mt24:15-22

 

16 And it shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand, or on their foreheads. 17 And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six

 

‘666’ – In Greek, Hebrew and Roman alphabets letters were used to represent numbers. The phonetic pronunciation of the name probably comes into play here so the name then would have to be spelled as it is pronounced. An approximate English pronunciation of the word in –

 

·        Greek   - chex

 

·        Hebrew – tavreshsamekhvav

 

·        Roman  - declexuee

 

18 "Six hundred sixty-six" ... The numeral letters of his name shall make up this number.

 

 

Chapter 14

Of the Lamb and of the virgins that follow him. Of the judgments that shall fall upon the wicked.

 

1 And I beheld, and lo a lamb stood upon mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the noise of many waters, and as the voice of great thunder; and the voice which I heard, was as the voice of harpers, harping on their harps.

 

harpers – Verses 1 to 3 take us back to the liturgy. See notes on Rev5:8.

 

3 And they sung as it were a new canticle, before the throne, and before the four living creatures, and the ancients; and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred forty-four thousand, who were purchased from the earth. 4 These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the firstfruits to God and to the Lamb:

 

virgins – priests and religious who are faithful to their vows

 

firstfruits – “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God”Ex23:19 – “To the eunuchs … who choose to please me … I will give … a name better than son’s and daughters”Isa56:4,5 – “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”Rev14:15

 

5 And in their mouth there was found no lie; for they are without spot before the throne of God.

 

Verses 6 to 11 below most likely give the chronological order of events: the “eternal gospel” preached by an “angel” (St. John?), the fall of “Babylon” (Rev17 & 18) and “the beast … and … false prophet … were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”Rev19:20

 

6 And I saw another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the eternal gospel, to preach unto them that sit upon the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people: 7 Saying with a loud voice: Fear the Lord, and give him honour, because the hour of his judgment is come; and adore ye him, that made heaven and earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters. 8 And another angel followed, saying: That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen; which made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

 

8 "Babylon" ... By Babylon may be very probably signified all the wicked world in general, which God will punish, and destroy after the short time of this mortal life: or it may signify every great city wherein enormous sins and abominations are daily committed; and that when the measure of its iniquities is full, the punishments due to its crimes are poured on it. It may also be some city of the description in the text, that will exist, and be destroyed, as here described, towards the end of the world.

 

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice: If any man shall adore the beast and his image, and receive his character in his forehead, or in his hand; 10 He also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mingled with pure wine in the cup of his wrath, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in the sight of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever: neither have they rest day nor night, who have adored the beast, and his image, and whoever receiveth the character of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow them.

 

Blessed (happy) are the dead – “For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved”Mt24:21,22

 

13 "Die in the Lord"... It is understood of the martyrs who die for the Lord.

 

14 And I saw, and behold a white cloud; and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man, having on his head a crown of gold, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

 

sickle – “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed …  sleep … But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle”Mk4:26-29

 

15 And another angel came out from the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat upon the cloud: Thrust in thy sickle, and reap, because the hour is come to reap: for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

 

angel … with a loud voice – This is someone with authority, possibly an angel or pope (who inherits the “keys”Mt16:19 and who acts in union with St. Peter in this case. He discerns by the light of the Spirit the optimum time for the maximum good (the salvation of souls). See notes on Rev3:21

 

reap – “When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens” (the Church) “lo, it will descend upon … the people I have doomed to judgment.”Isa34:5 – “On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and on earth the kings of the earth.”Isa24:21 – “See, I have taken out of your hand the cup tat makes you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you will never drink again. I will put it into the hands of your tormentors”Isa51:22,23

 

16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust his sickle into the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

 

another angel – “the destroying angel”1Cor10:10 here on earth?

 

18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire; and he cried with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying: Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth; because the grapes thereof are ripe.

 

angel … who had power over fire – “It is possible that this is the same angel that appears in Rev8:3 (see notes) after Constantine and the 144000 Jews but before the seven trumpets. A similar historical scenario seems likely here with the “male child, who will rule all the nations”Rev12:5 followed by the harvest of 144000 virgins and the “seven last plagues”Rev15:1.

 

19 And the angel thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth, and gathered the vineyard of the earth, and cast it into the great press of the wrath of God: 20 And the press was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the press, up to the horses' bridles, for a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

 

 

Chapter 15

Of the seven angels with the seven vials.

 

1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful: seven angels having the seven last plagues. For in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and them that had overcome the beast, and his image, and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having the harps of God:

 

sea of glass – See note in chapter 4 on Ezek1:22

 

3 And singing the canticle of Moses, the servant of God, and the canticle of the Lamb, saying: Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, O King of ages.

 

canticle of Moses – This song was recited in Ex15:1-18 as thanksgiving for the miraculous exodus and was preceded by a series of plagues.

 

4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and magnify thy name? For thou only art holy: for all nations shall come, and shall adore in thy sight, because thy judgments are manifest.

 

all nations … shall adore – “all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.”Ps22:27,28

 

5 And after these things I looked; and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed with clean and white linen, and girt about the breasts with golden girdles.

 

seven angels … girt … with golden girdles – These also, like Jesus, are priests. See notes on Rev1:13.

 

7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

 

one of the four living creatures – Priests and hierarchy (the Pope? - see notes Rev4:6-9) are apparently involved.

 

8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the majesty of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

 

temple was filled with … majesty of God – This event possibly marks the beginning of the last half week of Daniel. See notes Rev11:3 and Rev11:19.

 

 

Chapter 16

The seven vials are poured out. The plagues that ensue.

 

1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels: Go, and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

 

great voice – This is most likely God as “no one could enter the temple”Rev15:8

 

2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth, and there fell a sore and grievous wound upon men, who had the character of the beast; and upon them that adored the image thereof. 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea, and there came blood as it were of a dead man; and every living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third poured out his vial upon the rivers and the fountains of waters; and there was made blood.

 

blood – If verses 3 and 4 are taken metaphorically we here read of the final persecution of the people of God. This probably indicates that the plagues and persecution occur at the same time.

 

5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: Thou art just, O Lord, who art, and who wast, the Holy One, because thou hast judged these things: 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7 And I heard another, from the altar, saying: Yea, O Lord God Almighty, true and just are thy judgments. 8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and it was given unto him to afflict men with heat and fire: 9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God, who hath power over these plagues, neither did they penance to give him glory. 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom became dark, and they gnawed their tongues for pain: 11 And they blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and wounds, and did not penance for their works. 12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon that great river Euphrates; and dried up the water thereof, that a way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun. 13 And I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are the spirits of devils working signs, and they go forth unto the kings of the whole earth, to gather them to battle against the great day of the Almighty God.

 

battle – “And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse’s bridle , for a distance of two hundred miles.”Rev14:20

 

15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he shall gather them together into a place, which in Hebrew is called Armagedon.

 

16 "Armagedon"... That is, the hill of robbers.

 

Armagedon – Probably the mountain of Megiddo, located near the Kishon river in Palestine. – “Kings came, they fought … at Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo, but they carried off no silver, no plunder. From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought … The river Kishon swept them away”Judg5:19-21

 

17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial upon the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple from the throne, saying: It is done. 18 And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and there was a great earthquake, such an one as never had been since men were upon the earth, such an earthquake, so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts; and the cities of the Gentiles fell. And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the indignation of his wrath.

 

great city was divided into three parts – Probably another reference to Jerusalem referred to as such in chapter 11.

 

20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.

 

island … mountains were not found – So we have anarchy, the complete breakdown of government an in Rev6:14 (see notes).

 

21 And great hail, like a talent, came down from heaven upon men: and men blasphemed God for the plague of the hail: because it was exceeding great.

 

great hail – Bombs? See notes on Rev11:19.

 

 

Chapter 17

The description of the great harlot and of the beast upon which she sits.

 

1 And there came one of the seven angels, who had the seven vials, and spoke with me, saying: Come, I will shew thee the condemnation of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters,

 

great harlot – Tyre, a famous seaport, in the ancient world is called a prostitute in Isaiah. Babylon here and in Jerimiah is a port city. – “Tyre … will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world”Isa23:17 – “You who live by many waters and are rich in treasures, your end has come”Jer51:13

 

2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; and they who inhabit the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom.

 

wine of her whoredom – In Rev14:8 and 18:3 this wine is described as “the wine of the wrath of her fornication”. – “Take from my hand this cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad because of the sword I will send among them.”Jer25:15

 

3 And he took me away in spirit into the desert. And I saw a woman sitting upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

 

desert – Most likely referring to a pagan or wicked land. See note on Rev12:6.

 

woman – The ‘woman … in the basket’”Zech5:7 appears to have found a home here.

 

scarlet – This could denote some political affiliation.

 

beast – See note on Rev12:3.

 

4 And the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilt with gold, and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication.

 

golden cup – “Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, making all the earth drunken”Jer51:7

 

5 And on her forehead a name was written: A mystery; Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the abominations of the earth. 

 

A mystery; Babylon – “it was called Babel – because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world”Gen11:9 – Like ancient Babel this city is a source of ‘confusion’ or misunderstanding.

 

Where is Woodstock – the launching pad of the new age movement?

 

Where is the international headquarters of the Jehovah’s Witnesses located?

 

What is the largest media centre (television, publishing, etc.) in the world?

 

5 "A mystery" ... That is, a secret; because what follows of the name and title of the great harlot is to be taken in a mystical sense. "Babylon" ... Either the city of the devil in general; or, if this place be to be understood of any particular city, pagan Rome, which then and for three hundred years persecuted the church; and was the principal seat both of empire and idolatry. 


6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I wondered, when I had seen her, with great admiration. 7 And the angel said to me: Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast which carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction: and the inhabitants on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast that was, and is not.

 

The beast … was … is not … shall come – The kingdom of Satan is just ‘coming’ into existence. Before Antichrist it “is not”.

 

8 "The beast which thou sawest" ... This beast which supports Babylon, may signify the power of the devil: which was and is not, being much limited by the coming of Christ, but shall again exert itself under Antichrist. The seven heads of this beast are seven mountains or empires, instruments of his tyranny; of which five were then fallen. (See chap. 13. 1, and below, ver. 10.) The beast itself is said to be the eighth, and is of the seven; because they all act under the devil, and by his instigation, so that his power is in them all, yet so as to make up, as it were, an eighth empire, distinct from them all.

 

9 And here is the understanding that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings:

 

heads … mountains … kings – See notes Rev12:5.

 

10 Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he is come, he must remain a short time.

 

Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come – In St. John’s time this was true. The Roman empire ruled the world.

 

11 And the beast which was, and is not: the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction.

 

eighth – “They had a king over them the angel of the Abyss”Rev9:10

 

beast  …  is of the seven – The entire creature is made up “of the seven” heads or empires as pictorially illustrated in Rev12:3.

 

12 And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but shall receive power as kings one hour after the beast.

 

12 "Ten kings" ... Ten lesser kingdoms, enemies also of the church of Christ: which, nevertheless, shall be made instruments of the justice of God for the punishment of Babylon. Some understand this of the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other barbarous nations, that destroyed the empire of Rome.

 

13 These have one design: and their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast. 14 These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with him are called, and elect, and faithful. 15 And he said to me: The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and nations, and tongues.

 

peoples, and nations, and tongues – The “great city”Rev17:18 is probably located in a very multicultural country. This is Babel in reverse – a coming together of the various languages rather than a dispersal. See note on verse 5 above.

 

16 And the ten horns which thou sawest in the beast: these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her with fire.

 

horns … shall hate the harlot – The destruction of the city described in the next chapter and possibly in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah is not an act of God such as Sodom and Gomorrah or the punishment of the army of Pharaoh in the Red sea.

 

make her desolate – “Blow the trumpet among the nations! Prepare the nations for battle against her”Jer51:27 – “Babylon will be a heap of ruins … an object of horror and scorn, a place where no one lives.”Jer51:37 – “As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighboring towns, declares the Lord, so no one will live there”Jer50:40

 

naked - “Chaldea” (the land of ancient Babylon) “shall be plundered; all who plunder her shall be sated … (Chaldea) shall be ashamed … the last of the nations”Jer50:10,12 - “A sword against her treasures. They will be plundered.”Jer 50:37

 

eat her flesh – “A sword against the Chaldeans … the inhabitants of Babylon … her officials and sages … the diviners … her warriors … her horses and … her chariots”Jer50:35-37 – “I will surely fill you with men as with a swarm of locusts, and they will triumph over you.”Jer51:14

 

burn her – “I will kindle a fire in her towns that will consume all who are around her”Jer50:32 – “the nations weary themselves only for fire”Jer50:58 – “She will be consumed by fire”Rev18:8 – “Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war. They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens”Isa13:4, 5

 

17 For God hath given into their hearts to do that which pleaseth him: that they give their kingdom to the beast, till the words of God be fulfilled. 18 And the woman which thou sawest, is the great city, which hath kingdom over the kings of the earth.

 

It is quite likely that the United Nations could become a world governing body. This coupled with the other details above and in chapter 18 would seem to make New York a prime candidate for this “great city” at present.

 

 

Chapter 18

The fall of Babylon. Kings and merchants lament over her.

 

1 And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power: and the earth was enlightened with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a strong voice, saying: Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen; and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird:

 

Babylon … is fallen - “Babylon has fallen, has fallen!”Isa21:9 - “Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.”Jer51:8 - “How the hammer of the whole earth is cut down and broken.”Jer50:23i - “It will never be inhabited … wild animals will lie down there … goat demons will dance, Hyenas will cry in its towers and jackels in the pleasant palaces”Isa13:20-22 - “wild animals shall live with hyenas in Babylon, ostriches shall inhabit her; she shall never again be peopled, or inhabited for all generations”Jer50:39 – an allegorical description of the remaining inhabitants?

 

3 Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her; and the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Go out from her, my people; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues.

 

Go out from her, my people - “Flee from Babylon … Do not be destroyed because of her sins.”Jer51:6 - “let us leave her and each go to his own land”Jer51:9 - “Come out of her my people! Run for your lives!”Jer51:45 - “come you out from them and be you separate, says the Lord.”2Cor6:17

 

5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and the Lord hath remembered her iniquities. 6 Render to her as she also hath rendered to you; and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup wherein she hath mingled, mingle ye double unto her. 7 As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her; because she saith in her heart: I sit a queen, and am no widow; and sorrow I shall not see.

 

I sit a queen - “You said, 'I will continue forever – the eternal queen' But you did not consider these things or reflect on what might happen. Now then, listen you wanton creature, lounging in your security and saying to yourself, 'I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.' Both of these will overtake you in a moment, on a single day”Isa47:7-9

 

8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine, and she shall be burnt with the fire; because God is strong, who shall judge her.

 

she shall be burnt – See notes on Rev17:16.

 

9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication, and lived in delicacies with her, shall weep, and bewail themselves over her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning:

 

kings of the earth … shall weep – Especially those who depend on the support of this world government to maintain their hold on power.

 

10 Standing afar off for fear of her torments, saying: Alas! alas! that great city Babylon, that mighty city: for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep, and mourn over her: for no man shall buy their merchandise any more.

 

Merchants … shall weep – Not just over the loss of this wealthy city but the end of the status quo. - “See the Lord is going to lay waste to the earth and devastate its inhabitants – it will be the same for priest as for the people, for master as for servant, for mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for lender, for debtor as for creditor. The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered.”Isa24:1-3

 

12 Merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stones; and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of precious stone, and of brass, and of iron, and of marble, 13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. 14 And the fruits of the desire of thy soul are departed from thee, and all fat and goodly things are perished from thee, and they shall find them no more at all. 15 The merchants of these things, who were made rich, shall stand afar off from her, for fear of her torments, weeping and mourning. 16 And saying: Alas! alas! that great city, which was clothed with fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and was gilt with gold, and precious stones, and pearls. 17 For in one hour are so great riches come to nought; and every shipmaster, and all that sail into the lake, and mariners, and as many as work in the sea, stood afar off. 18 And cried, seeing the place of her burning, saying: What city is like to this great city? 19 And they cast dust upon their heads, and cried, weeping and mourning, saying: Alas! alas! that great city, wherein all were made rich, that had ships at sea, by reason of her prices: for in one hour she is made desolate.

 

the lake – Where is Lake Ontario?

 

mariners … cried – This is indeed a seaport. See notes on Rev17:1.

 

in one hour - “in a moment, on a single day”Isa47:9 - “Babylon will suddenly fall”Jer51:8

 

20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying: With such violence as this shall Babylon, that great city, be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

 

Babylon … thrown down - “When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more.”Jer51:63,64

 

22 And the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of them that play on the pipe, and on the trumpet, shall no more be heard at all in thee; and no craftsman of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in thee; and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 And the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments.

 

merchants were the great men of the earth – Government by financial interests is most likely what is here indicated.

 

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

 

blood … of all -  “Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain, just as the slain of the earth have fallen because of Babylon.”Jer51:49

 

For example; it has been estimated that communism has claimed 67 million lives in eastern Europe and 70 million in China. When body counts are added for other communist countries and communist inspired wars the number is probably about 200 million.

 

“The communist world revolution has been largely financed from its start in 1903 until the present by American wealth, public and private. Lenin and his heirs have had the sometimes knowing, sometimes unknowing, cooperation of the United States State Department” (and since its inception the United Nations) “every step of the way. Every communist country in the world literally has a ‘Made in USA’ stamp on it … In 1916 -17, Leon Trotsky was in exile in America. In New York, he recruited, financed, and trained a cadre of gangsters and hoodlums. Transported to Russia, this hard core of cutthroat shock troops was used by Lenin and Trotsky to seize control” (p.27,28 None Dare Call It Treason by John A. Stormer).

 

 

Chapter 19

The saints glorify God for his judgments on the great harlot. Christ's victory over the beast and the kings of the earth.

 

1 After these things I heard as it were the voice of much people in heaven, saying: Alleluia. Salvation, and glory, and power is to our God.

 

Alleluia – The English translation of the Hebrew word is “praise the Lord”.

 

2 For true and just are his judgments, who hath judged the great harlot which corrupted the earth with her fornication, and hath revenged the blood of his servants, at her hands. 3 And again they said: Alleluia. And her smoke ascendeth for ever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty ancients, and the four living creatures fell down and adored God that sitteth upon the throne, saying: Amen; Alleluia.

 

ancients … creatures – The clergy, hierarchy and “much people”Rev19:1 praise the Lord.

 

5 And a voice came out from the throne, saying: Give praise to our God, all ye his servants; and you that fear him, little and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of great thunders, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord our God the Almighty hath reigned. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give glory to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath prepared herself.

 

marriage of the Lamb – “For your maker is your husband – the Lord Almighty is his name”Isa54:5 – “I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.”Hos2:19,20 – “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.”Mt22:2

 

8 And it is granted to her that she should clothe herself with fine linen, glittering and white. For the fine linen are the justifications of saints. 9 And he said to me: Write: Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith to me: These words of God are true. 10 And I fell down before his feet, to adore him. And he saith to me: See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren, who have the testimony of Jesus. Adore God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

 

10 "I fell down before" ... St. Augustine (lib. 20, contra Faust, c. 21) is of opinion, that this angel appeared in so glorious a manner, that St. John took him to be God; and therefore would have given him divine honour had not the angel stopped him, by telling him he was but his fellow servant. St. Gregory (Hom. 8, in Evang.) rather thinks that the veneration offered by St. John, was not divine honour, or indeed any other than what might lawfully be given; but was nevertheless refused by the angel, in consideration of the dignity to which our human nature had been raised, by the incarnation of the Son of God, and the dignity of St. John, an apostle, prophet, and martyr.

 

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and with justice doth he judge and fight. 12 And his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many diadems, and he had a name written, which no man knoweth but himself.

 

on his head were many diadems – “King of kings and Lord of lords”Rev19:16

 

13 And he was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and his name is called, THE WORD OF GOD.

 

garment sprinkled with blood – “he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes”Gen49:11

 

THE WORD OF GOD – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”Jn1:1,14

 

14 And the armies that are in heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp two edged sword; that with it he may strike the nations. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty.

 

rod of iron – “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Now therefore, O kings, be wise, be warned, O rulers of the earth.”Ps2:8-10

 

winepress – “I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations none was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered on my garments, and I stained all my clothing.”Isa63:3 – “I trampled the nations in my anger; In my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground.”Isa63:6 – “Come trample the grapes for the wine press is full and the vats overflow – so great is their wickedness!”Joel3:13

 

16 And he hath on his garment, and on his thigh written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that did fly through the midst of heaven: Come, gather yourselves together to the great supper of God:

 

the great supper – “The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them; he will give them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.”Isa34:2 – “and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh”Rev19:21

 

18 That you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of tribunes, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all freemen and bondmen, and of little and of great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse, and with his army.

 

the kings of the earth – “In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all Nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them”Joel3:1,2 – “Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”Rev16:16 – see notes

 

20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, who wrought signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character of the beast, and who adored his image. These two were cast alive into the pool of fire, burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword of him that sitteth upon the horse, which proceedeth out of his mouth; and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

 

 

Chapter 20

Satan is bound for a thousand years. The souls pf the martys reign with Christ in the first resurrection. The last attemps of Satan against the church. The last judgement.

 


1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.


key of the bottomless pit – The “key” is a power given to the “angel” as it was in Rev9:1. If this incident proceeded that in chapter nine where the bottomless pit is then opened again, the end of the thousand years would appear to be then.

 

2 And he laid hold on the dragon the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

 

thousand years - The technical term for the commonly held theory in the church regarding this time period is called amillennialism. This is given below in the red lettered footnote. There are a number of problems with this. The first that I encounter is that verses 1 and 2 in this chapter must then refer to the past (the passion) rather than the future. This seems to contradict “the things which must be done hereafter”Rev4:1. Verse 3 tells us that Satan would not “seduce the nations” during that period. This is obviously contradicted by history although at the time the theory originated this may not have been so apparent. This thousand years must therefore be a portion of the reign of Christ spoken of by St. Paul - “For he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet.”1Cor15:25. The obvious solution then, which is in no way at variance with the faith (check both Roman catechisms), is a literal reading of this chapter.

 

2 "Bound him" ... The power of Satan has been very much limited by the passion of Christ: for a thousand years; that is, for the whole time of the New Testament; but especially from the time of the destruction of Babylon or pagan Rome, till the new efforts of Gog and Magog against the church, towards the end of the world. During which time the souls of the martyrs and saints live and reign with Christ in heaven, in the first resurrection, which is that of the soul to the life of glory; as the second resurrection will be that of the body, at the day of the general judgment.

 

3 And he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should no more seduce the nations, till the thousand years be finished. And after that, he must be loosed a little time. 4 And I saw seats; and they sat upon them; and judgment was given unto them; and the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and who had not adored the beast nor his image, nor received his character on their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

 

seats (thrones) – “This horn had eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I looked, thrones were set in place … this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints … and the time came when they possessed the kingdom … the court will sit, and … the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heavens will be handed over to the saints … His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.”Dan7:8-27 – “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”Mt19:28

 

5 The rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.


first resurrection – This does seem to indicate more than one physical resurrection of the body. Ezekiel and St. Paul seem to concur. – “the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breathe and breathe into these slain, that they may live … they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army … I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel … and I will settle you in your own land”Ezek37:9-14 – In Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn”1Cor15:22,23

 

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ; and shall reign with him a thousand years.

 

priests – “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”1Pt2:5

 

7 And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations, which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

 

thousand years – possibly an approximate number – See note on Rev12:3.

 

Gog, and Magog – The word Magog (the son of Japeth, a son of Noah) could be translated as the land of Gog. This is probably between the Black and Caspian seas.

 

8 And they came upon the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. 9And there came down fire from God out of heaven, and devoured them; and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast

 

fire – “I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and his troops and on many nations with him.”Ezek38:22 – The story of Gog and Magog which parallels that of Antichrist is recounted in chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel below.

 

10 And the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them.

 

earth and heaven fled away – “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed every all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”1Cor15:24-26

 

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

 

book of life – See notes on Rev3:5.

 

13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them; and they were judged every one according to their works.

 

judged every one according to their works – “I the Lord … reward a man … according to what his deeds deserve.”Jer17:10 – “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what has been done.”Mt16:27 – “when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed … he will repay according to each one’s deeds”Rom2:5,6 – “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”Jas2:26

 

14 And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire.

 

 

Chapter 21

The new Jerusalem described

 

These final chapters probably refer to the ‘1000 years … yet to come’ (see notes chapter 20) which prefigure the eternal happiness of heaven “when” Christ “hands over the kingdom to God the Father”1Cor15:24 and “God” is “all in all”1Cor15:28.

 

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth was gone, and the sea is now no more.

 

new heaven and a new earth – “Behold I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”Isa65:17 – “’Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’ The words ‘once more’ indicate the removing of what can be shaken – that is, created things – so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful”Heb12:26-28 – “the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire … But, in accordance with his promises, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.”2Pet3:12, 13

 

sea is now no more – The wicked are now not on earth. See notes Rev7:1. – “For evil men will be cut off, but those that hope in the Lord will inherit the land”Ps37:9, 10, 20, 22, 28, 34, 38 – “the fire will test the quality of each man’s work”1Cor3:13

 

1 "The first heaven and the first earth was gone" ... being changed, not as to their substance, but in their qualities.

 

2 And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 

the holy city – “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city.”Isa52:1

 

a bride adorned – See notes on Rev19:7.

 

3 And I heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will dwell with them. And they shall be his people; and God himself with them shall be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.

 

death shall be no more, nor mourning – Violent death is probably what is spoken of this here. Many chapters of Isaiah, particularly the last, speak of this period. This may be literally true of the martyrs who “came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years”Rev20:4. See notes Rev20:5. – “No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders”Isa60:18 – “I will rejoice over Jerusalem … the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.”Isa65:19, 20 – “They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, neither will they train for war anymore.”Mic4:3 – “’The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not harm or destroy on all my holy mountain’, says the Lord.”Isa65:25

 

5 And he that sat on the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new. And he said to me: Write, for these words are most faithful and true. 6 And he said to me: It is done. I am Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. To him that thirsteth, I will give of the fountain of the water of life, freely. 7 He that shall overcome shall possess these things, and I will be his God; and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. 9 And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 10  And he took me up in spirit to a great and high mountain: and he shewed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God, and the light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone, even as crystal. 12  And it had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

 

twelve gates – Ezekiel’s city with its temple, that has not at the time of this writing been built, also has 12 gates “named after the tribes of Israel”Ezek48:31

 

13 On the east, three gates: and on the north, three gates: and on the south, three gates: and on the west, three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

 

twelve foundations – “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going … For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”Heb11:8,10 – “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”Eph19-22

 

15 And he that spoke with me, had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall. 16 And the city lieth in a foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and the height and the breadth thereof are equal.

 

twelve thousand furlongs – Ezekiel’s temple was like this one “foursquare”. One of its lengths was “4500 cubits”Ezek48:30. One cubit is about 1½ feet. The length then of his city is about 1.28 miles (4500X1.5/5280) and its area about 1.63 square miles (1.28X1.28). A stadia or furlong is about 606 feet. The length of the “new Jerusalem”Rev21:2 would be about 1377.27 miles (12000X606/5280) or about 1/3 the distance across North America. Its area would be 1,896,880 square miles (1377.27X1377.27). Ezekiel’s city, then, would be about 1.16 million times smaller in land area than the New Jerusalem.

 

This “new Jerusalem” is explained in verse 14 above. The idea intended, conveyed to us here by these large numbers is, most likely, the great magnitude or importance of this city in God’s plan. This city is the end purpose of the created universe.

 

Ezekiel’s city also could quite possibly be an actual construction at this time. – “’The days are coming’, declares the Lord, ‘when the city will be rebuilt for me from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”Jer31:38-40 – “In that day I will restore David’s fallen tent. I will repair its broken places and restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be”Am9:11

 

17 And he measured the wall thereof an hundred and forty-four cubits, the measure of a man, which is of an angel.

 

17 "The measure of a man,"... i. e. According to the measure of men, and used by the angel. This seems to be the true meaning of these words.

 

18 And the building of the wall thereof was of jasper stone: but the city itself pure gold, like to clear glass.

 

jasper stone – “jasper stone, even as crystal” (verse 11 above) – our diamond?  “I will make … all your walls of precious stones”Isa54:12 & Tob13:16 – holiness?

 

pure gold – “The towers of Jerusalem will be built with gold and their battlements with pure gold”Tob13:16 – within the walls the love of God?

 

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper: the second, sapphire: the third, a chalcedony: the fourth, an emerald:

 

all manner of precious stones – “I will build you with stones of turquoise your  foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels”Isa54:11,12 – “The gates of Jerusalem will be built with sapphire and emerald … streets … will be paved with ruby and stones of Ophir.”Tob13:16 – various virtues?

 

20 The fifth, sardonyx: the sixth, sardius: the seventh, chrysolite: the eighth, beryl: the ninth, a topaz: the tenth, a chrysoprasus: the eleventh, a jacinth: the twelfth, an amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, one to each: and every several gate was of one several pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

 

every several gate was of one several pearl – “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.”Jn10:9 – There is only one “gate”, “one several pearl”, Christ.

 

22 And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb.

 

no temple – This city with all its buildings is made up of “the true worshipers” who “worship the Father in spirit and truth”Jn4:23

 

23 And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God hath enlightened it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof. 24 And the nations shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it.

 

nations shall walk in the light of it – “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”Isa60:3

 

25 And the gates thereof shall not be shut by day: for there shall be no night there.

 

gates … shall not be shut – “Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night”Isa60:11

 

26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27 There shall not enter into it any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

 

There shall not enter into it any thing defiled – “The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again”Isa52:1 - “Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.”Joel3:17 – “And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty.”Zech14:21 – “The remnant of Israel will do no wrong; they will speak no lies … and no one will make them afraid.”Zeph3:13

Please read Zecharias 14 in the supplement.

 

 

Chapter 22

The water and the tree of life. The conclusion.

 

1 And he shewed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

 

river of water of life – “I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple towards the east (for the temple faced east)”Ezek47:1 – “A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house”Joel3:18 – “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea” (Dead sea) “and half to the western sea,” (Mediterranean) “in summer and in winter.”Zech14:8 – “Indeed, the water I will give him will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”Jn4:14

 

2 In the midst of the street thereof, and on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruits every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

 

fruits … and … leaves – “Fruit of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”Ezek47:12

 

3 And there shall be no curse any more; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him.

 

no curse any more – “there shall be no more an anathema: but Jerusalem shall sit secure.”Zech14:11 – “’The days are coming’, says the Lord, ‘when this city will be rebuilt … The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”Jer31:38,40 – “I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever.”Ezek37:26 – “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted”Am9:15

 

4 And they shall see his face: and his name shall be on their foreheads.

 

they shall see his face – “I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my spirit on the house of Israel”Ezek39:29 – “And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD IS THERE.”Ezek48:35 – “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them”Rev21:3 – “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.”1Cor13:12

 

5 And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

 

they shall not need the light of the lamp – Possibly what is indicated here is an infused knowledge given to the elect that negates the necessity of study and ‘lamps’. – “the Lamb is its lamp”Rev21:23 – “The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light”Isa60:19 – “I will put my law in their minds and will write it on their hearts … No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord’, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest”Jer31:33,34

 

6 And he said to me: These words are most faithful and true. And the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets sent his angel to shew his servants the things which must be done shortly. 7 And, Behold I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. 8 And I, John, who have heard and seen these things. And after I had heard and seen, I fell down to adore before the feet of the angel, who shewed me these things. 9 And he said to me: See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of the prophecy of this book. Adore God. 10 And he saith to me: Seal not the words of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

 

10 "For the time is at hand" ... That is, when compared to eternity, all time and temporal things vanish, and are but of short duration. As to the time when the chief predictions should come to pass, we have no certainty, as appears by the different opinions, both of the ancient fathers and late interpreters. Many think that most things set down from the 4th chapter to the end, will not be fulfilled till a little time before the end of the world. Others are of opinion, that a great part of them, and particularly the fall of the wicked Babylon, happened at the destruction of paganism, by the destruction of heathen Rome, and its persecuting heathen emperors. Of these interpretations, see Aleazar, in his long commentary; see the learned Bossnet, bishop of Meaux, in his treatise on this Book; and P. Alleman, in his notes on the same Apocalypse, tom. 12, who in his Preface says, that this, in a great measure, may be now looked upon as the opinion followed by the learned men. In fine, others think that St. John's design was in a mystical way, by metaphors and allegories, to represent the attempts and persecutions of the wicked against the servants of God, the punishments that should in a short time fall upon Babylon, that is, upon all the wicked in general: the eternal happiness and reward, which God had reserved for the pious inhabitants of Jerusalem, that is, for his faithful servants, after their short trials and the tribulations of this mortal life. In the mean time we meet with many profitable instructions and admonitions, which we may easily enough understand: but we have no certainty when we apply these predictions to particular events: for as St. Jerome takes notice, the Apocalypse has as many mysteries as words, or rather mysteries in every word. Apocalypsis Joannis tot habet Sacramenta quot verba --- parum dixi, in verbis singulis multiplices latent intelligentiae. Ep. ad Paulin, t. 4. p. 574. Edit. Benedict.

 

11 He that hurteth, let him hurt still: and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is just, let him be justified still: and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still.

 

11 "Let him hurt still" ... It is not an exhortation, or license to go on in sin; but an intimation, that how far soever the wicked may proceed, their progress shall quickly end, and then they must expect to meet with proportionable punishments.

 

12 Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to his works. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city.

 

gates – “Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter.”Ps118:19, 20

 

15 Without are dogs, and sorcerers, and unchaste, and murderers, and servers of idols, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie. 16 I Jesus have sent my angel, to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and stock of David, the bright and morning star. 17 And the spirit and the bride say: Come. And he that heareth, let him say: Come. And he that thirsteth, let him come: and he that will, let him take the water of life, freely.

 

take the water of life, freely – “Come, all of you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.”Isa55:1

 

18 For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from these things that are written in this book. 20 He that giveth testimony of these things, saith, Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

 

I come quickly – “in the last days scoffers will come … They will say, ‘Where is this coming he promised?’ … The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”2Pet3:3,4,9

 

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Ante-Nicene Fathers, The, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995.

 

Bander, Peter, The Prophecies of St. Malachy, Rockford, Illinois: Tan Book and Publishers, 1969.

 

Bryce, James, The Holy Roman Empire, London, Great Britain: Macmillan and Company, 1917.

 

Catholic Encyclopedia, The, New York, New York: Robert Appleton Company.

 

Culleton, Rev. R. Gerald, The Prophets and Our Times and The Reign of Antichrist, Rockford, Illinois: Tan Book and Publishers, 1974.

 

Douay-Rheims Bible, The, Belgium, available from Tan.

 

Huchede, Rev. P., History of Antichrist, Rockford, Illinois: Tan Book and Publishers, 1976.

 

John of the Cross, St., Ascent of Mount Carmel, Liguori, Missouri: Triumph Books, 1991.

 

King, Charles William, The Emperor Julian, London, Great Britain: G. Bell, 1888.

 

Kramer, Rev. Herman Bernard, The Book of Destiny, Rockford, Illinois: Tan Book and Publishers, 1975.

 

Laux, Rev. John, Church History, Rockford, Illinois: Tan Book and Publishers, 1989.

 

Lehodey, Dom Vitalis, The Ways of Mental Prayer, Rockford, Illinois: Tan Book and Publishers.

 

Liguori, St. Alphonsus De, Victories of the Martyrs, The Redemptorists. Available from Our Lady Queen of Peace Books and Mission, Inc., 4920 22nd Ave. , Brookings, S.D., 57006, Phone: (605) 693 3983

 

Mills, Charles, The History of the Crusades for the Recovery and the Possession of the Holy Land, London, Great Britain: Longman, Rees, Orme and Green, 1828.

 

Montfort, St. Louis de, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, Bayshore, New York, Montfort Publications, 1987.

 

New American Bible with Revised New Testament, The, New York, New York: McGraw Hill Book Company.

 

New International Version Study Bible with Apocrypha, The, New York, New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, The, Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995.

 

Payne, Robert, The Dream and the Tomb, New York, New York: Dorset Press, 1990.

 

Runciman, Steven, The Eastern Schism, London, Great Britain: Oxford University Press, 1956.

 

Stormer, John A., None Dare Call it Treason, Florissant, Missouri: Liberty Bell Press, 1964.

 

Teresa of Avila, Interior Castle, New York, New York: Image/Doubleday Books, 1989.

 

 

APPENDIX

 

BIBLICAL SUPPLEMENT

 

Why I Chose the Douay-Rheims Translation of the Bible

 

The Douay-Rheims is a Catholic Bible, which was translated from the Latin Vulgate in 1582 and 1609. Although modern-English translations of the Bible may be easier to read, in my opinion the Douay-Rheims is the most accurate English translation available. St. Jerome, who lived about A.D. 345-420, produced the Latin Vulgate when Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were all living languages, well known to him. {He had, as well, at his disposal many manuscripts which are not now in existence. The Latin Vulgate is, also, the only officially approved (counsel of Trent) bible of the divinely inspired Church.} . The Douay-Rheims is an accurate (word for word) English translation from the Latin Vulgate. 

 

 

Seven Words on the Inerrancy of Sacred Scripture


 

1. Pope St. Clement I: “Look carefully into the Scriptures, which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit. Observe that nothing of an unjust or counterfeit character is written in them.” (Letter to the Corinthians, chap. 45).

 

2. Pope Leo XIII: “But it is absolutely wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has erred…. For all the books which the Church receives as sacred and canonical, are written wholly and entirely, with all their parts, at the dictation of the Holy Spirit; and so far is it from being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that inspiration not only is essentially incompatible with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolute and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true. This is the ancient and unchanging faith of the Church, solemnly defined in the Councils of Florence and of Trent, and finally confirmed and more expressly formulated by the Council of theVatican.” (Providentissimus Deus, n. 20).

 

3. Pope St. Pius X condemned the idea that “Divine inspiration does not extend to all of Sacred Scriptures so that it renders its parts, each and every one, free from every error.” (Lamentabili Sane, ‘Syllabus of Errors,’ n. 11).

 

4. Pope Benedict XV: “St. Jerome's teaching on this point serves to confirm and illustrate what our predecessor of happy memory, Leo XIII, declared to be the ancient and traditional belief of the Church touching the absolute immunity of Scripture from error: So far is it from being the case that error can be compatible with inspiration, that, on the contrary, it not only of its very nature precludes the presence of error, but as necessarily excludes it and forbids it as God, the Supreme Truth, necessarily cannot be the Author of error…. But although these words of our predecessor leave no room for doubt or dispute, it grieves us to find that not only men outside, but even children of the Catholic Church -- nay, what is a peculiar sorrow to us, even clerics and professors of sacred learning -- who in their own conceit either openly repudiate or at least attack in secret the Church's teaching on this point…. Divine inspiration extends to every part of the Bible without the slightest exception, and that no error can occur in the inspired text….” (Spiritus Paraclitus, n. 16, 18, 21).

 

5. Pope Pius XII: “they put forward again the opinion, already often condemned, which asserts that immunity from error extends only to those parts of the Bible that treat of God or of moral and religious matters.” (Humani Generis, n. 22).

 

6. Pope Pius XII: “The sacred Council of Trent ordained by solemn decree that ‘the entire books with all their parts, as they have been wont to be read in the Catholic Church and are contained in the old vulgate Latin edition, are to be held sacred and canonical.’ In our own time the Vatican Council, with the object of condemning false doctrines regarding inspiration, declared that these same books were to be regarded by the Church as sacred and canonical ‘not because, having been composed by human industry, they were afterwards approved by her authority, nor merely because they contain revelation without error, but because, having been written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God for their author, and as such were handed down to the Church herself.’ When, subsequently, some Catholic writers, in spite of this solemn definition of Catholic doctrine, by which such divine authority is claimed for the ‘entire books with all their parts’ as to secure freedom from any error whatsoever, ventured to restrict the truth of Sacred Scripture solely to matters of faith and morals, and to regard other matters, whether in the domain of physical science or history, as ‘obiter dicta’ and -- as they contended -- in no wise connected with faith, Our Predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII in the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus Deus, published on November 18 in the year 1893, justly and rightly condemned these errors and safe-guarded the studies of the Divine Books by most wise precepts and rules.” (Divino Afflante Spiritu, n. 1).

 

7. SecondVaticanCouncil: “everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit….” (Dei Verbum, n. 11). 

 

Books of the Bible - Differences

 

Because the Douay-Rheims Bible was translated from the ancient Latin Vulgate, the names of some of the books differ from the names in the King James Version and in more modern Catholic versions. Also, Catholic Bibles contain seven books of the Old Testament not found in Protestant Bibles. The following table may prove helpful to those not already familiar with the Douay-Rheims Version:



BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 

 

(Italics denote the Protestant Apocrypha.)


KING JAMES:                                             DOUAY-RHEIMS:


Genesis                                                    Genesis

Exodus                                                     Exodus

Leviticus                                                   Leviticus

Numbers                                                   Numbers

Deuteronomy                                            Deuteronomy

Joshua                                                        Josue

Judges                                                        Judges

Ruth                                                           Ruth

1 Samuel                                                   1 Kings

2 Samuel                                                   2 Kings

1 Kings                                                      3 Kings

2 Kings                                                      4 Kings

1 Chronicles                                              1 Paralipomenon

2 Chronicles                                              2 Paralipomenon

Ezra                                                            1 Esdras

Nehemiah                                                   2 Esdras

Tobit                                                           Tobias

Judith                                                           Judith

 

Esther 1-10                                                 Esther

Esther 11-16                                     

 

Job                                                               Job

Psalms                                                         Psalms

Proverbs                                                      Proverbs

Ecclesiastes                                                 Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon                                         Canticle of Canticles 

Wisdom of Solomon                                    Wisdom

Ecclesiasticus                                              Ecclesiasticus

Isaiah                                                           Isaias

Jeremiah                                                      Jeremias

Lamentations                                              Lamentations

Baruch                                                         Baruch

Ezekiel                                                        Ezechiel

 

Daniel                                                         Daniel 

Song of the Three

      Children         

Susanna

Bel and the Dragon

                                                 

Hosea                                                         Osee

Joel                                                             Joel

Amos                                                          Amos

Obadiah                                                      Abdias

Jonah                                                           Jonas

Micah                                                          Micheas

Nahum                                                        Nahum

Habakkuk                                                    Habacuc

Zephaniah                                                   Sophonias

Haggai                                                         Aggeus

Zechariah                                                    Zacharias

Malachi                                                       Malachias

1 Maccabees                                               1 Machabees

2 Maccabees                                               2 Machabees 

 

Matthew                                                      Matthew

Mark                                                            Mark

Luke                                                            Luke

John                                                             John

Acts                                                             Acts

Romans                                                       Romans

1 Corinthians                                               1 Corinthians

2 Corinthians                                               2 Corinthians

Galatians                                                     Galatians

Ephesians                                                    Ephesians

Philippians                                                   Philippians

Colossians                                                   Colossians

1 Thessalonians                                           1 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians                                           2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy                                                     1 Timothy

2 Timothy                                                     2 Timothy

Titus                                                            Titus

Philemon                                                     Philemon

Hebrews                                                      Hebrews

James                                                           James

1 Peter                                                        1 Peter

2 Peter                                                        2 Peter

1 John                                                          1 John

2 John                                                          2 John

3 John                                                          3 John

Jude                                                              Jude

Revelation                                                    Apocalypse

 


NOTE: In modern Catholic Bibles, the names of the books are the same as in the King James Bible and the Protestant Apocrypha, except as follows:


KING JAMES:                                               MODERN CATHOLIC:

                                                                                               

Song of Solomon                                        Song of Songs

Wisdom of Solomon                                    Wisdom

Ecclesiasticus                                              Sirach

 

NOTE: In some Bibles, Jeremiah and Lamentations are counted as one book.

 

NOTE: In some modern Catholic Bibles, the two books of Maccabees follow Esther rather than Malachi.

 

Proper Names Compared

 

Besides the differences in the names of the books of the Bible, some other proper names in the Douay-Rheims Bible differ from the names in other versions of the Bible. The most important of these are as follows:

 

SOME PROPER NAMES IN THE BIBLE

 

KING JAMES:                                              DOUAY-RHEIMS:

                                                 

Apollos                                                       Apollo

Barak                                                           Barac

Bath-sheba                                                  Bethsabee

Deborah                                                      Debora

Elijah                                                           Elias

Enoch                                                          Henoch

Gideon                                                        Gedeon

Hagar                                                          Agar

Hezekiah                                                    Ezechias

Ishmael                                                       Ismael or Ismahel

Judah                                                           Juda

Leah                                                            Lea

Nebuchadnezzar                                         Nabuchodonosor

Nimrod                                                        Nemrod

Noah                                                            Noe

Pharaoh                                                        Pharao

Rehoboam                                                    Roboam

Sarah                                                            Sara

Uriah                                                             Urias

Zacharias                                                      Zachary

 

Numbering of the Psalms Compared

 

In the Douay-Rheims Version, the Psalms are numbered differently from most other versions of the Bible, although their total number is still 150. For example, Psalm 23 in most Bibles corresponds to Psalm 22 in the Douay-Rheims version. The following table may be helpful:

 

NUMBERING OF THE PSALMS

                                                                                                                

MOST BIBLES:                                             DOUAY-RHEIMS:


1-8                                                             1-8

9-10                                                           9

11-113                                                       10-112

114-115                                                     113

116                                                             114-115

117-146                                                     116-145

147                                                             146-148

148-150                                                     148-150

 

                  

RELEVANT SCRIPTURE

 


Daniel, Chapter 2

 

Daniel, whose name signifies The Judgment of God, was of the royal blood of the kings of Juda : and one of those that were first of all carried away into captivity. He was so renowned for wisdom and knowledge, that it became a proverb among the Babylonians, As wise as Daniel (Ezech. 28:3). And his holiness was so great from his very childhood, that at the time when he was as yet but a young man, he is joined by the Spirit of God with Noe and Job, as three persons most eminent for virtue and sanctity. Ezech. 14. He is not commonly numbered by the Hebrews among the prophets : because he lived at court, and in high station in the world : but if we consider his many clear predictions of things to come, we shall find that no one better deserves the name and title of a prophet : which also has been given him by the Son of God himself, Matt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 21. Daniel, by divine revelation, declares the dream of Nabuchodonosor, and the interpretation of it. He is highly honoured by the king.

 

1 In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor had a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream went out of his mind.

1The second year. Viz., from the death of his father Nabopolassar ; for he had reigned before as partner with his father in the empire.

2 Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise men, and the magicians, and the Chaldeans : to declare to the king his dreams : so they came and stood before the king.

2 The Chaldeans. That is, the astrologers, that pretended to divine by stars.

3 And the king said to them : I saw a dream : and being troubled in mind I know not what I saw.

4 And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac : O king, live for ever : tell to thy servants thy dream, and we will declare the interpretation thereof.

5 And the king answering said to the Chaldeans : The thing is gone out of my mind : unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof, you shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.

6 But if you tell the dream, and the meaning of it, you shall receive of me rewards, and gifts, and great honour : therefore tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

7 They answered again and said : Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation of it.

8 The king answered, and said : I know for certain that you seek to gain time, since you know that the thing is gone from me.

9 If therefore you tell me not the dream, there is one sentence concerning you, that you have also framed a lying interpretation, and full of deceit, to speak before me till the time pass away. Tell me therefore the dream, that I may know that you also give a true interpretation thereof.

10 Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and said : There is no man upon earth, that can accomplish thy word, O king, neither doth any king, though great and mighty, ask such a thing of any diviner, or wise man, or Chaldean.

11 For the thing that thou askest, O king, is difficult ; nor can any one be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.

12 Upon hearing this, the king in fury, and in great wrath, commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.

13 And the decree being gone forth, the wise men were slain : and Daniel and his companions were sought for, to be put to death.

14 Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence, of Arioch the general of the king's army, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon.

15 And he asked him that had received the orders of the king, why so cruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king. And when Arioch had told the matter to Daniel,

16 Daniel went in and desired of the king, that he would give him time to resolve the question and declare it to the king.

17 And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias his companions :

18 To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of heaven concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night : and Daniel blessed the God of heaven,

20 And speaking he said : Blessed be the name of the Lord from eternity and for evermore : for wisdom and fortitude are his.

21 And he changeth times and ages : taketh away kingdoms and establisheth them, giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding.

22 He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in darkness : and light is with him.*

*1 Cor. 4:5,1 John 1:6,John 1:9,John 8:12

23 To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee : because thou hast given me wisdom and strength : and now thou hast shewn me what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us, the king's discourse.

24 After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him : Destroy not the wise men of Babylon : bring me in before the king, and I will tell the solution to the king.

25 Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king, and said to him : I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda, that will resolve the question to the king.

26 The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltassar : Thinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw, and the interpretation thereof ?

27 And Daniel made answer before the king, and said : The secret that the king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or the diviners, or the soothsayers can declare to the king.

28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth mysteries, who hath shewn to thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, what is to come to pass in the latter times. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these :

29 Thou, O king, didst begin to think in thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter : and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what shall come to pass.

30 To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have more than all men alive : but that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thoughts of thy mind.

31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great statue : this statue, which was great and high, tall of  stature, stood before thee, and the look thereof was terrible.

32 The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass :

33 And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands : and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and of clay, and broke them in pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's thrashing floor, and they were carried away by the wind : and there was no place found for them : but the stone that struck the statue, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36 This is the dream : we will also tell the interpretation thereof before thee, O king.

37 Thou art a king of kings : and the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power, and glory :

38 And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the field do dwell : he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand, and hath put all things under thy power : thou therefore art the head of gold.

39 And after thee shall rise upanother kingdom, inferior to thee, of silver : and another third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over all the world.

39 Another kingdom. Viz., that of the Medes and Persians.

39 Third kingdom. Viz., that of Alexander the Great.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into pieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break and destroy all these.

40 The fourth kingdom, &c. Some understand this of the successors of Alexander, the kings of Syria and Egypt, others of the Roman empire, and its civil wars.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet, and the toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron : the kingdom shall be divided, but yet it shall take its origin from the iron, according as thou sawest the iron mixed with the miry clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43 And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall be mingled indeed together with the seed of man, but they shall not stick fast one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.

44 But in the days of those kingdoms the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people, and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms, and itself shall stand for ever.

44 A kingdom. Viz., the kingdom of Christ in the Catholic Church which cannot be destroyed.

45 According as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and broke in pieces, the clay, and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God hath shewn the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof is faithful.

46 Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and incense.

47 And the king spoke to Daniel, and said : Verily your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of hidden things : seeing thou couldst discover this secret.

48 Then the king advanced Daniel to a high station, and gave him many and great gifts : and he made him governor over all the provinces of Babylon, and chief of the magistrates over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago over the works of the province of Babylon : but Daniel himself was in the king's palace.

 

 

Daniel, Chapter 7

 

Daniel's vision of the four beasts, signifying four kingdoms : of  God sitting on his throne : and of the opposite kingdoms of Christ and Antichrist.

 

1 In the first year of Baltasar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream : and the vision of his head was upon his bed : and writing the dream, he comprehended it in few words : and relating the sum of it in short, he said :

2 I saw in my vision by night, and behold the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

3 And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea.

3 Four great beasts. Viz., the Chaldean, Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. But some rather choose to understand the fourth beast of the successors of Alexander the Great, more especially of them that reigned in Asia and Syria.

4 The first was like a lioness, and had the wings of an eagle : I beheld till her wings were plucked off, and she was lifted up from the earth, and stood upon her feet as a man, and the heart of a man was given to her.

5 And behold another beast like a bear stood up on one side : and there were three rows in the mouth thereof, and in the teeth thereof, and thus they said to it : Arise, devour much flesh.

6 After this I beheld, and lo, another like a leopard, and it had upon it four wings as of a fowl, and the beast had four heads, and power was given to it.

7 After this I beheld in the vision of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong, it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet : and it was unlike to the other beasts which I had seen before it, and hadten horns.

7 Ten horns. That is, ten kingdoms, (as Apoc. 17:12,) among which the empire of the fourth beast shall be parcelled. Or ten kings of the number of the successors of Alexander ; as figures of such as shall be about the time of Antichrist.

8 I considered the horns, and beholdanother little horn sprung out of the midst of them : and three of the first horns were plucked up at the presence thereof : and behold eyes like the eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.

8 Another little horn. This is commonly understood of Antichrist. It may also be applied to that great persecutor Antiochus Epiphanes, as a figure of Antichrist.

9 I beheld till thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days sat : his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool : his throne like flames of fire : the wheels of it like a burning fire.

10 A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him : * thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him : the judgment sat, and the books were opened.

*Apoc. 5:11

11 I beheld because of the voice of the great words which that horn spoke : and I saw that the beast was slain, and the body thereof was destroyed, and given to the fire to be burnt :

12 And that the power of the other beasts was taken away : and that times of life were appointed them for a time, and a time.

13 I beheld therefore in the vision of the night, and lo, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the Ancient of days : and they presented him before him.

14 And he gave him power, and glory, and a kingdom : and all peoples, tribes and tongues shall serve him : * his power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away : and his kingdom that shall not be destroyed.

*Dan. 3:100, Dan. 4:31, Mic. 4:7, Luke 1:32

15 My spirit trembled, I Daniel was affrighted at these things, and the visions of my head troubled me.

16 I went near to one of them that stood by, and asked the truth of him concerning all these things, and he told me the interpretation of the words, and instructed me :

17 These four great beasts are four kingdoms, which shall arise out of the earth.

18 But the saints of the most high God shall take the kingdom : and they shall possess the kingdom for ever and ever.

19 After this I would diligently learn concerning the fourth beast, which was very different from all, and exceeding terrible: his teeth and claws were of iron : he devoured and broke in pieces, and the rest he stamped upon with his feet:

20 And concerning the ten horns that he had on his head : and concerning the other that came up, before which three horns fell : and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was greater than the rest.

21 I beheld, and lo, that horn made war against the saints, and prevailed over them,

22 Till the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most High, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.

23 And thus he said : The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

24 And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings.

25 And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High : and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.

25 A time, and times, and half a time. That is, three years and a half ; which is supposed to be the length of the duration of the persecution of Antichrist.

26 And judgment shall sit, that his power may be taken away, and be broken in pieces, and perish even to the end.

27 And that the kingdom, and power, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, may be given to the people of the saints of the most High : whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him, and shall obey him.

28 Hitherto is the end of the word. I Daniel was much troubled with my thoughts, and my countenance was changed in me : but I kept the word in my heart.

 

 

Daniel, Chapter 8

 

Daniel's vision of the ram and he goat interpreted by the angel Gabriel.

 

1 In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar, a vision appeared to me. I Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning,

2 Saw in my vision when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the province of Elam: and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai.

3 And I lifted up my eyes, and saw : and beholda ram stood before the water, having two high horns, and one higher than the other, and growing up. Afterward

3 A ram. The empire of the Medes and Persians.

4 I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against the north, and against the south : and no beasts could withstand him, nor be delivered out of his hand : and he did according to his own will, and became great.

5 And I understood : and behold a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground, and the he goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

5 A he goat. The empire of the Greeks, or Macedonians.

5 He touched not the ground. He conquered all before him, with so much rapidity, that he seemed rather to fly, than to walk upon the earth.

5 A notable horn. Alexander the Great.

6 And he went up to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.

7 And when he was come near the ram, he was enraged against him, and struck the ram: and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him : and when he had cast him down on the ground, he stamped upon him, and none could deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 And the he goat became exceeding great: and when he was grown, the great horn was broken, and there came up four horns under it towards the four winds of heaven.

8 Four horns. Seleucus, Antigonus, Philip, and Ptolemeus, the successors of Alexander, who divided his empire among them.

9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn : and it became great against the south, and against the east, and against the strength.

9 A little horn. Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Seleucus. He grew against the south, and the east, by his victories over the kings of Egypt and Armenia : and against the strength, that is, against Jerusalem and the people of God.

10 And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven : and it threw down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them.

10 Unto the strength of heaven : or, against the strength of heaven. So are here called the army of the Jews, the people of God.

11 And it was magnified even to the prince of the strength : and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary.

12 And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice, because of sins : and truth shall be cast down on the ground, and he shall do and shall prosper.

13 And I heard one of the saints speaking, and one saint said to another, I know not to whom that was speaking: How long shall be the vision, concerning the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation that is made : and the sanctuary, and the strength be trodden under foot ?

14 And he said to him: Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days : and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

14 Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days. That is, six years and almost four months: which was the whole time from the beginning of the persecution of Antiochus till his death.

15 And it came to pass when I Daniel saw the vision, and sought the meaning, that behold there stood before me as it were the appearance of a man.

16 And I heard the voice of a man between Ulai : and he called, and said : Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

17 And he came and stood near where I stood : and when he was come, I fell on my face trembling, and he said to me : Understand, O son of man, for in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled.

18 And when he spoke to me I fell flat on the ground : and he touched me, and set me upright,

19 And he said to me : I will shew thee what things are to come to pass in the end of the malediction : for the time hath its end.

20 The ram, which thou sawest with horns, is the king of the Medes and Persians.

21 And the he goat, is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn that was between his eyes, the same is the first king.

22 But whereas when that was broken, there arose up four for it: four kings shall rise up of his nation, but not with his strength.

23 And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there shall arise a king of a shameless face, and understanding dark sentences.

24 And his power shall be strengthened, but not by his own force: and he shall lay all things waste, and shall prosper, and do more than can be believed. And he shall destroy the mighty, and the people of the saints,

25 According to his will, and craft shall be successful in his hand : and his heart shall be puffed up, and in the abundance of all things he shall kill many : and he shall rise up against the prince of princes, and shall be broken without hand.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is true : thou therefore seal up the vision, because it shall come to pass after many days.

27 And I Daniel languished, and was sick for some days : and when I was risen up, I did the king's business, and I was astonished at the vision, and there was none that could interpret it.

 

 

Daniel, Chapter 9

 

Daniel's confession and prayer : Gabriel informs him concerning the seventy weeks to the coming of Christ.

 

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Assuerus of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldeans:

2 The first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the * number of the years, concerning which the word of the Lord came to Jeremias the prophet, that seventy years should be accomplished of the desolation of Jerusalem.

*Jer. 25:11, Jer. 29:10

3 And I set my face to the Lord my God, to pray and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.

4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and I made my confession, and said : * I beseech thee, O Lord God, great and terrible, who keepest the covenant, and mercy to them that love thee, and keep thy commandments.

*2 Esd. 1:5

5 * We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly, and have revolted: and we have gone aside from thy commandments, and thy judgments.

*Bar. 1:17

6 We have not hearkened to thy servants the prophets, that have spoken in thy name to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 To thee, O Lord, justice : but to us confusion of face, as at this day to the men of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to them that are near, and to them that are far off in all the countries whither thou hast driven them, for their iniquities by which they have sinned against thee.

8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our princes, and to our fathers that have sinned.

9 But to thee, the Lord our God, mercy and forgiveness, for we have departed from thee :

10 And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his law, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

11 And all Israel have transgressed thy law, and have turned away from hearing thy voice, and the malediction, and the curse, * which is written in the book of Moses the servant of God, is fallen upon us, because we have sinned against him.

*Deut. 27:14

12 And he hath confirmed his words which he spoke against us, and against our princes that judged us, that he would bring in upon us a great evil, such as never was under all the heaven, according to that which hath been done in Jerusalem.

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: and we entreated not thy face, O Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and think on thy truth.

14 And the Lord hath watched upon the evil, and hath brought it upon us : the Lord our God is just in all his works which he hath done : for we have not hearkened to his voice.

15 * And now, O Lord our God, who hast brought forth thy people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and hast made thee a name as at this day : we have sinned, we have committed iniquity,

*Bar. 2:11,Ex. 14:22

16 O Lord, against all thy justice : let thy wrath and thy indignation be turned away, I beseech thee, from thy city Jerusalem, and from thy holy mountain. For by reason of our sins, and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem, and thy people a reproach to all that are round about us.

17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the supplication of thy servant, and his prayers : and shew thy face upon thy sanctuary which is desolate, for thy own sake.

18 Incline, O my God, thy ear, and hear : open thy eyes, and see our desolation, and the city upon which thy name is called : * for it is not for our justifications that we present our prayers before thy face, but for the multitude of thy tender mercies.

*Jer. 25:29, Ps. 48:2, Ps. 48:9, Ps. 101:3

19 O Lord, hear: O Lord, be appeased : hearken and do : delay not for thy own sake, O my God : because thy name is invocated upon thy city, and upon thy people.

20 Now while I was yet speaking, and praying, and confessing my sins, and the sins of my people of Israel, and presenting my supplications in the sight of my God, for the holy mountain of my God :

21 As I was yet speaking in prayer, behold the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, * flying swiftly touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice.

* Dan. 8:16  

21 The man Gabriel. The angel Gabriel in the shape of a man.

22 And he instructed me, and spoke to me, and said : O Daniel, I am now come forth to teach thee, and that thou mightest understand.

23 From the beginning of thy prayers the word came forth : and I am come to shew it to thee, because thou art aman of desires : therefore do thou mark the word, and understand the vision.

23 Man of desires, that is, ardently praying for the Jews then in captivity.

24 *Seventy weeks are shortened upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, that transgression may be finished, and sin may have an end, and iniquity may be abolished ; and everlasting justice may be brought ; and vision and prophecy may be fulfilled ; and the saint of saints may be anointed.

*Matt. 24:15, John 1:45

24 Seventy weeks, viz., of years, (or seventy times seven, that is, 490 years,) are shortened ; that is, fixed and determined, so that the time shall be no longer.

25 Know thou therefore, and take notice : that from the going forth of the word, to build up Jerusalem again, unto Christ the prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks : and the street shall be built again, and the walls in straitness of times.

25 From the going forth of the word, &c. That is, from the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, when by his commandment Nehemias rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, 2 Esd. 25. From which time, according to the best chronology, there were just sixty-nine weeks of years, that is, 483 years to the baptism of Christ, when he first began to preach and execute the office of Messias.

25 In straitness of times ; angustia temporum : which may allude both to the difficulties and opposition they met with in building : and to the shortness of the time in which they finished the wall, viz., fifty-two days.

26 And after sixty-two weeks Christ shall be slain : and the people that shall deny him shall not be his. Anda people with their leader that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary : and the end thereof shall be waste, and after the end of the war the appointed desolation.

26 A people with their leader. The Romans under Titus.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week: and in the half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fail : and there shall be in the  temple the abomination of desolation : and the desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end.

27 In the half of the week, or, in the middle of the week, &c. Because Christ preached three years and a half : and then by his sacrifice upon the cross abolished all the sacrifices of the law.

27 The abomination of desolation. Some understand this of the profanation of the temple by the crimes of the Jews, and by the bloody faction of the zealots. Others of the bringing in thither the ensigns and standard of the pagan Romans. Others, in fine, distinguish three different times of desolation : viz., that under Antiochus ; that when the temple was destroyed by the Romans ; and the last near the end of the world under Antichrist. To all which, as they suppose, this prophesy  may have a relation.

 

 

Daniel, Chapter 10

 

Daniel having humbled himself by fasting and penance seeth a vision, with which he is much terrified ; but he is comforted by an angel.

 

1 In the third year of Cyrus king of the Persians, a word was revealed to Daniel surnamed Baltassar, and a true word, and great strength : and he understood the word : for there is need of understanding in a vision.

2 In those days I Daniel mourned the days of three weeks.

3 I ate no desirable bread, and neither flesh, nor wine entered into my mouth, neither was I anointed with ointment : till the days of three weeks were accomplished.

4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month I was by the great river which is the Tigris.

5 And I lifted up my eyes, and I saw : and behold a man clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with the finest gold :

6 And his body was like the chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as a burning lamp : and his arms, and all downward even to the feet, like in appearance to glittering brass : and the voice of his word like the voice of a multitude.

7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision : for the men that were with me saw it not : but an exceeding great terror fell upon them, and they fled away, and hid themselves.

8 And I being left alone saw this great vision : and there remained no strength in me, and the appearance of my countenance was changed in me, and I fainted away, and retained no strength.

9 And I heard the voice of his words: and when I heard, I lay in a consternation, upon my face, and my face was close to the ground.

10 And behold a hand touched me, and lifted me up upon my knees, and upon the joints of my hands.

11 And he said to me : Daniel, thou man of desires, understand the words that I speak to thee, and stand upright : for I am sent now to thee. And when he had said this word to me, I stood trembling.

12 And he said to me: Fear not, Daniel : for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, to afflict thyself in the sight of thy God, thy words have been heard : and I am come for thy words.

13 But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians.

13 The prince, &c. That is, the angel guardian of Persia: who according to his office, seeking the spiritual good of the Persians was desirous that many of the Jews should remain among them.

14 But I am come to teach thee what things shall befall thy people in the latter days, for as yet the vision is for days.

15 And when he was speaking such words to me, I cast down my countenance to the ground, and held my peace.

16 And behold, as it were the likeness of a son of man touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spoke, and said to him that stood before me : O my Lord, at the sight of thee my joints are loosed, and no strength hath remained in me.

17 And how can the servant of my lord speak with my lord ? for no strength remaineth in me, moreover my breath is stopped.

18 Therefore he that looked like a man touched me again, and strengthened me.

19 And he said : Fear not, O man of desires, peace be to thee : take courage and be strong. And when he spoke to me, I grew strong : and I said : Speak, O my lord, for thou hast strengthened me.

20 And he said : Dost thou know wherefore I am come to thee ? and now I will return, to fight against the prince of the Persians. When I went forth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming.

21 But I will tell thee what is set down in the scripture of truth : and none is my helper in all these things, but *Michael your prince.

*Apoc. 12:7

21 Michael your prince. The guardian general of the church of God.

 

 

Daniel, Chapter 11

 

The angel declares to Daniel many things to come, with regard to the Persian and Grecian kings : more especially with regard to Antiochus as a figure of Antichrist.

 

1 And from the first year of Darius the Mede I stood up that he might be strengthened and confirmed.

2 And now I will shew thee the truth. Behold there shall stand yet three kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched exceedingly above them all : and when he shall be grown mighty by his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

2 Three kings. Viz., Cambyses, Smerdes Magus, and Darius, the son of Hystaspes.

2 The fourth. Xerxes.

3 But there shall rise up a strong king, and shall rule with great power : and he shall do what he pleaseth.

3 A strong king. Alexander.

4 And when he shall come to his height, his kingdom shall be broken, and it shall be divided towards the four winds of the heaven : but not to his posterity, nor according to his power with which he ruled. For his kingdom shall be rent in pieces, even for strangers, beside these.

5 And the king of the south shall be strengthened, and one of his princes shall prevail over him, and he shall rule with great power: for his dominion shall be great.

5 The king of the south. Ptolemeus the son of Lagus, king of Egypt, which lies south of Jerusalem.

5 One of his princes, that is, one of Alexander's princes, shall prevail over him: that is, shall be stronger than the king of Egypt. He speaks of Seleucus Nicator, king of Asia and Syria, whose successors are here called the kings of the north, because their dominions lay to the north in respect to Jerusalem.

6 And after the end of years they shall be in league together: and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make friendship, but she shall not obtain the strength of the arm, neither shall her seed stand : and she shall be given up, and her young men that brought her, and they that strengthened her in these times.

6 The daughter of the king of the south. Viz., Berenice, daughter of Ptolemeus Philadelphus, given in marriage to Antiochus Theos, grandson of Seleucus.

7 And a plant of the bud of her roots shall stand up : and he shall come with an army, and shall enter into the province of the king of the north : and he shall abuse them, and shall prevail.

7 A plant, &c. Ptolemeus Evergetes, the son of Philadelphus.

8 And he shall also carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and their graven things, and their precious vessels of gold and silver : he shall prevail against the king of the north.

8 The king of the north. Seleucus Callinicus.

9 And the king of the south shall enter into the kingdom, and shall return to his own land.

10 And his sons shall be provoked, and they shall assemble a multitude of great forces : and he shall come with haste like a flood : and he shall return and be stirred up, and he shall join battle with his forces.

10 His sons. Seleucus Ceraunius, and Antiochus the Great, the sons of Callinicus.

10 He shall come. Viz., Antiochus the Great.

11 And the king of the south being provoked shall go forth, and shall fight against the king of the north, and shall prepare an exceeding great multitude, and a multitude shall be given into his hand.

11 The king of the south. Ptolemeus Philopator, son of Evergetes.

12 And he shall take a multitude, and his heart shall be lifted up, and he shall cast down many thousands: but he shall not prevail.

13 For the king of the north shall return and shall prepare a multitude much greater than before : and in the end of times and years, he shall come in haste with a great army, and much riches.

14 * And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south, and the children of prevaricators of thy people shall lift up themselves to fulfil the vision, and they shall fall.

*Isa. 19:1

15 And the king of the north shall come, and shall cast up a mount, and shall take the best fenced cities : and the arms of the south shall not withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up to resist, and they shall not have strength.

16 And he shall come upon him and do according to his pleasure, and there shall be none to stand against his face : and he shall stand in the glorious land, and it shall be consumed by his hand.

16 He shall come upon him. Viz., Antiochus shall come upon the king of the south.

16 The glorious land. Judea.

17 And he shall set his face to come to possess all his kingdom, and he shall make upright conditions with him : and he shall give him a daughter of women, to overthrow it : and she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him.

17 All his kingdom. Viz., all the kingdom of Ptolemeus Epiphanes, son of Philopator.

17 A daughter of women. That is, a most beautiful woman, viz., his daughter Cleopatra.

17 To overthrow it. Viz., the kingdom of Epiphanes : but his policy shall not succeed ; for Cleopatra shall take more to heart the interest of her husband, than that of her father.

18 And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many : and he shall causethe prince of his reproach to cease, and his reproach shall be turned upon him.

18 The prince of his reproach. Seipio the Roman general, called the prince of his reproach, because he overthrew Antiochus, and obliged him to submit to very dishonourable terms, before he would cease from the war.

19 And he shall turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he shall stumble, and fall, and shall not be found.

20 And there shall stand up in his place, one most vile, and unworthy of kingly honour: and in a few days he shall be destroyed, not in rage nor in battle.

20 One most vile. Seleucus Philopator, who sent Heliodorus to plunder the temple : and was shortly after slain by the same Heliodorus.

21 And there shall stand up in his place one despised, and the kingly honour shall not be given him : and he shall come privately, and shall obtain the kingdom by fraud.

21 One despised. Viz., Antiochus Epiphanes, who at first was despised and not received for king. What is here said of this prince, is accommodated by St. Jerome and others to Antichrist ; of whom this Antiochus was a figure.

22 And the arms of the fighter shall be overcome before his face, and shall be broken ; yea alsothe prince of the covenant.

22 Of the fighter. That is, of them that shall oppose him, and shall fight against him.

22 The prince of the covenant, or, of the league. The chief of them that conspired against him: or the king of Egypt his most powerful adversary.

23 And after friendships, he will deal deceitfully with him : and he shall go up, and shall overcome with a small people.

24 And he shall enter into rich and plentiful cities: and he shall do that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers : he shall scatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and shall forecast devices against the best fenced places : and this until a time.

25 And his strength and his heart shall be stirred up against the king of the south with a great army : and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with many and very strong succours: and they shall not stand, for they shall form designs against him.

25 The king. Ptolemeus Philometor.

26 And they that eat bread with him, shall destroy him, and his army shall be overthrown: and many shall fall down slain.

27 And the heart of the two kings shall be to do evil, and they shall speak lies at one table, and they shall not prosper : because as yet the end is unto another time.

28 And he shall return into his land with much riches : and his heart shall be against the holy covenant, and he shall succeed and shall return into his own land.

29 At the time appointed he shall return, and he shall come to the south, but the latter time shall not be like the former.

30 And the galleys and the Romans shall come upon him, and he shall be struck, and shall return, and shall have indignation against the covenant of the sanctuary, and he shall succeed : and he shall return and shall devise against them that have forsaken the covenant of the sanctuary.

30 The galleys and the Romans. Popilius, and the other Roman ambassadors, who came in galleys, and obliged him to depart from Egypt.

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation.

31 They shall place there the abomination, &c. The idol of Jupiter Olympius, which Antiochus ordered to be set up in the sanctuary of the temple: which is here called the sanctuary of strength, from the Almighty that was worshipped there.

32 And such as deal wickedly against the covenant shall deceitfully dissemble : but the people that know their God shall prevail and succeed.

33 And they that are learned among the people shall teach many: and they shall fall by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by spoil for many days.

34 And when they shall have fallen they shall be relieved with a small help : and many shall be joined to them deceitfully.

35 And some of the learned shall fall, that they may be tried, and may be chosen, and made white even to the appointed time, because yet there shall be another time.

36 And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall be lifted up, and shall magnify himself against every god : and he shall speak great things against the God of gods, and shall prosper, till the wrath be accomplished. For the determination is made.

37 And he shall make no account of the God of his fathers : and he shall follow the lust of women, and he shall not regard any gods : for he shall rise up against all things.

38 But he shall worship the god Maozim in his place : and a god whom his fathers knew not, he shall worship with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and things of great price.

38 The god Maozim. That is, the god of forces or strong holds.

39 And he shall do this to fortify Maozim with a strange god, whom he hath acknowledged, and he shall increase glory and shall give them power over many, and shall divide the land gratis.

39 And he shall increase glory, &c. He shall bestow honours, riches and lands, upon them that shall worship his god.

40 And at the time prefixed the king of the south shall fight against him, and the king of the north shall come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great navy, and he shall enter into the countries, and shall destroy, and pass through.

41 And he shall enter into the glorious land, and many shall fall : and these only shall be saved out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the principality of the children of Ammon.

42 And he shall lay his hand upon the lands : and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43 And he shall have power over the treasures of gold, and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt: and he shall pass through Libya, and Ethiopia.

44 And tidings out of the east, and out of the north shall trouble him : and he shall come with a great multitude to destroy and slay many.

45 And he shall fix his tabernacle Apadno between the seas, upon a glorious and holy mountain: and he shall come even to the top thereof, and none shall help him.

45 Apadno. Some take it for the proper name of a place: others, from the Hebrew, translate it his palace.

 

 

Daniel, Chapter 12

 

Michael shall stand up for the people of God : with other things relating to Antichrist, and the end of the world.

 

1 But * at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people : and a time shall come such as never was from the time that nations began even until that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, every one that shall be found written in the book.

* Apoc. 12:7

2 And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake : * some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always.

* Matt. 25:46, John 5:29

3 But they that are learned * shall shine as the brightness of the firmament : and they that instruct many to justice, as stars for all eternity.

* Wis. 3:7

3 Learned. Viz., in the law of God and true wisdom, which consists in knowing and loving God.

4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time appointed: many shall pass over, and knowledge shall be manifold.

5 And I Daniel looked, and behold as it were two others stood: one on this side upon the bank of the river, and another on that side, on the other bank of the river.

6 And I said to the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the waters of the river : How long shall it be to the end of these wonders ?

7 And I heard the man that was clothed in linen, that stood upon the waters of the river: * when he had lifted up his right hand, and his left hand to heaven, and had sworn, by him that liveth for ever, that it should be unto a time, and times, and half a time. And when the scattering of the band of the holy people shall be accomplished, all these things shall be finished.

* Apoc. 10:5

8 And I heard, and understood not. And I said: O my lord, what shall be after these things?

9 And he said : Go, Daniel, because the words are shut up, and sealed until the appointed time.

10 Many shall be chosen, and made white, and shall be tried as fire : and the wicked shall deal wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the learned shall understand.

11 And from the time when the continual sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination unto desolation shall be set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred ninety days.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh unto a thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

13 But go thou thy ways until the time appointed: and thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot unto the end of the days.

 

 

Ezechiel, Chapter 1

 

The time of Ezechiel's prophecy : he sees a glorious vision.

 

1 Now it came to pass inthe thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, when I was in the midst of the captives * by the river Chobar, the heavens were opened, and I saw the visions of God.

* Ezech. 3:23, Ezech,10:20, Ezech. 43:3

1 The thirtieth year. Either of the age of Ezechiel ; or, as others will have it, from the solemn covenant made in the eighteenth year of the reign of Josias. 4 Kings 23

2 On the fifth day of the month, the same was the fifth year of the captivity of king Joachin,

3 The word of the Lord came to Ezechiel the priest the son of Buzi in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chobar : and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

4 And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came out of the north: and a great cloud, and a fire infolding it, and brightness was about it : and out of the midst thereof, that is, out of the midst of the fire, as it were the resemblance of amber :

5 And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures : and this was their appearance : there was the likeness of a man in them.

5 And in the midst thereof the likeness of four living creatures : and this was their appearance : there was the likeness of a man in them.

5 Living creatures. Cherubims (as appears from Eccus. 49:10) represented to the prophet under these mysterious shapes, as supporting the throne of God, and as it were drawing his chariot. All this chapter appeared so obscure, and so full of mysteries to the ancient Hebrews, that, as we learn from St. Jerome, (Ep. ad Paulin.,) they suffered none to read it before they were thirty years old.

6 Every one had four faces, and every one four wings.

7 Their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their foot was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they sparkled like the appearance of glowing brass.

8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides: and they had faces, and wings on the four sides,

9 And the wings of one were joined to the wings of another. They turned not when they went: but every one went straight forward.

10 And as for the likeness of their faces: there was the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side of all the four : and the face of an ox, on the left side of all the four : and the face of an eagle over all the four.

11 And their faces, and their wings were stretched upward : two wings of every one were joined, and two covered their bodies :

12 And every one of them went straight forward : whither the impulse of the spirit was to go, thither they went : and they turned not when they went.

13 And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like that of burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps. This was the vision running to and fro in the midst of the living creatures, a bright fire, and lightning going forth from the fire.

14 And the living creatures ran and returned like flashes of lightning.

15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, there appeared upon the earth by the living creatures one wheel with four faces.

16 And the appearance of the wheels, and the work of them was like the appearance of the sea: and the four had all one likeness : and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel.

17 When they went, they went by their four parts: and they turned not when they went.

17 When they went, they went by their four parts. That is, indifferently to any of their sides either forward or backward: to the right or to the left.

18 The wheels had also a size, and a height, and a dreadful appearance: * and the whole body was full of eyes round about all the four.

* Ezech. 10:12

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels also went together by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels also were lifted up with them.

20 Whithersoever the spirit went, thither as the spirit went the wheels also were lifted up withal, and followed it : for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

21 When those went these went, and when those stood these stood, and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels also were lifted up together, and followed them: for the spirit of life was in the wheels.

22 And over the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of the firmament, as the appearance of crystal terrible to behold, and stretched out over their heads above.

23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other, every one with two wings covered his body, and the other was covered in like manner.

24 And I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, as it were the voice of the most high God : when they walked, it was like the voice of a multitude, like the noise of an army, and when they stood, their wings were let down.

25 For when a voice came from above the firmament, that was over their heads, they stood, and let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of the sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne, was a likeness as of the appearance of a man above upon it.

27 And I saw as it were the resemblance of amber as the appearance of fire within it round about : from his loins and upward, and from his loins downward, I saw as it were the resemblance of fire shining round about.

28 As the appearance of the rainbow when it is in a cloud on a rainy day: this was the appearance of the brightness round about.

 

 

Ezechiel, Chapter 10

 

Fire is taken from the midst of the wheels under the cherubims, and scattered over the city. A description of the cherubims.

 

1 And I saw and behold in the firmament that was over the heads of the cherubims, there appeared over them as it were the sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

2 And he spoke to the man, that was clothed with linen, and said : Go in between the wheels that are under the cherubims and fill thy hand with the coals of fire that are between the cherubims, and pour them out upon the city. And he went in, in my sight :

3 And the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court.

4 And the glory of the Lord was lifted up from above the cherub to the threshold of the house : and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord.

5 And the sound of the wings of the cherubims was heard even to the outward court as the voice of God Almighty speaking.

6 And when he had commanded the man that was clothed with linen, saying: Take fire from the midst of the wheels that are between the cherubims: he went in and stood beside the wheel.

7 And one cherub stretched out his arm from the midst of the cherubims to the fire that was between the cherubims: and he took, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen : who took it and went forth.

8 And there appeared in the cherubims the likeness of a man's hand under their wings.

9 And I saw, and behold there were four wheels by the cherubims : one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub : and the appearance of the wheels was to the sight like the chrysolite stone :

10 And as to their appearance, all four were alike : as if a wheel were in the midst of a wheel.

11 And when they went, they went by four ways: and they turned not when they went : but to the place whither they first turned, the rest also followed, and did not turn back.

11 By four ways. That is, by any of the four ways, forward, backward, to the right or to the left.

12 And their whole body, and their necks, and their hands, and their wings, and the circles were full of eyes, round about the four wheels.

13 And these wheels he called voluble, in my hearing.

13 Voluble. That is, rolling wheels, galgal.

14 And every one had four faces: one face was the face of a cherub, and the second face, the face of a man : and in the third was the face of a lion : and in the fourth the face of an eagle.

15 And the cherubims were lifted up: this is the living creature that I had seen by the river Chobar.

16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels also went by them: and when the cherubims lifted up their wings, to mount up from the earth, the wheels stayed not behind, but were by them.

17 When they stood, these stood : and when they were lifted up, these were lifted up : for the spirit of life was in them.

18 And the glory of the Lord went forth from the threshold of the temple: and stood over the cherubims.

19 And the cherubims lifting up their wings, were raised from the earth before me : and as they went out, the wheels also followed : and it stood in the entry of the east gate of the house of the Lord : and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.

20 * This is the living creature, which I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chobar: and I understood that they were cherubims.

* Ezech. 1:1, Ezech. 1:3

21 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings : and the likeness of a man's hand was under their wings.

22 And as to the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces which I had seen by the river Chobar, and their looks, and the impulse of every one to go straight forward.

 

 

Zacharias, Chapter 1

 

8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees, that were in the bottom : and behind him were horses, red, speckled, and white.

8 A man. An angel in the shape of a man. It was probably St. Michael, the guardian angel of the church of God.

9 And I said : What are these, my Lord ? and the angel that spoke in me, said to me : I will shew thee what these are :

10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered, and said :These are they, whom the Lord hath sent to walk through the earth.

10 These are they, &c. The guardian angels of provinces and nations.

11 And they answered the angel of the Lord, that stood among the myrtle trees, and said : We have walked through the earth, and behold all the earth is inhabited, and is at rest.

12 And the angel of the Lord answered, and said : O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem, and on the cities of Juda, with which thou hast been angry? This is now the seventieth year.

12 The seventieth year. Viz., from the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, in the ninth year of king Sedecias, to the second year of king Darius. These seventy years of the desolation of Jerusalem and the cities of Juda, are different from the seventy years of captivity foretold by Jeremias; which began in the fourth year of Joakim, and ended in the first year of king Cyrus.

13 And the Lord answered the angel, that spoke in me, good words, comfortable words.

14 And the angel that spoke in me, said to me : Cry thou, saying : Thus saith the Lord of hosts : * I am zealous for Jerusalem, and Sion with a great zeal.

* Zach. 8:2

15 And I am angry with a great anger with the wealthy nations: for I was angry a little, but they helped forward the evil.

16 Therefore thus saith the Lord : I will return to Jerusalem in mercies : my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts : and the building line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

17 Cry yet, saying : Thus saith the Lord of hosts : My cities shall yet flow with good things : and the Lord will yet comfort Sion, and he will yet choose Jerusalem.

 

 

Zacharias, Chapter 6

 

The vision of the four chariots. Crowns are ordered for Jesus the high priest, as a type of Christ.

 

1 And I turned, and lifted up my eyes, and saw : and behold four chariots came out from the midst of two mountains : and the mountains were mountains of brass.

1 Four chariots. The four great empires of the Chaldeans, Persians, Grecians, and Romans. Or perhaps by the fourth chariot are represented the kings of Egypt and of Asia, the descendants of Ptolemeus and Seleucus.

2 In the first chariot were red horses, and in the second chariot black horses.

3 And in the third chariot white horses, and in the fourth chariot grisled horses, and strong ones.

4 And I answered, and said to the angel that spoke in me: What are these, my lord ?

5 And the angel answered, and said to me : These are the four winds of the heaven, which go forth to stand before the Lord of all the earth.

6 That in which were the black horses went forth into the land of the north, and the white went forth after them : and the grisled went forth to the land of the south.

6 The land of the north. So Babylon is called; because it lay to the north in respect of Jerusalem. The black horses, that is, the Medes and Persians: and after them Alexander and his Greeks, signified by the white horses, went thither because they conquered Babylon, executed upon it the judgments of God, which is signified, ver. 8, by the expression of quieting his spirit.

6 The land of the south. Egypt, which lay to the south of Jerusalem, and was occupied first by Ptolemeus, and then by the Romans.

7 And they that were most strong, went out, and sought to go, and to run to and fro through all the earth. And he said : Go, walk throughout the earth: and they walked throughout the earth.

8 And he called me, and spoke to me, saying: Behold they that go forth into the land of the north, have quieted my spirit in the land of the north.

9 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying :

10 Take of them of the captivity, of Holdai, and of Tobias, and of Idaias; thou shalt come in that day, and shalt go into the house of Josias, the son of Sophonias, who came out of Babylon.

11 And thou shalt take gold and silver: and shalt make crowns, and thou shalt set them on the head of Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest

12 And thou shalt speak to him, saying : Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying : * BEHOLD A MAN, THE ORIENT IS HIS NAME : and under him shall he spring up, and shall build a temple to the Lord.

* Luke 1:78

13 Yea, he shall build a temple to the Lord : and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit, and rule upon his throne : and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.13 Between them both. That is, he shall unite in himself the two offices or dignities of king and priest

14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and Tobias, and Idaias, and to Hem, the son of Sophonias, a memorial in the temple of the Lord.

15 And they that are far off, shall come and shall build in the temple of the Lord : and you shall know that the Lord of hosts sent me to you. But this shall come to pass, if hearing you will hear the voice of the Lord your God.

 

 

Jeremias, Chapter 4

 

23 I beheld the earth, and lo it was void, and nothing: and the heavens, and there was no light in them.

24 I looked upon the mountains, and behold they trembled: and all the hills were troubled.

25 I beheld, and lo there was no man : and all the birds of the air were gone.

26 I looked, and behold Carmel was a wilderness: and all its cities were destroyed at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of the wrath of his indignation.

27 For thus saith the Lord : All the land shall be desolate, but yet I will not utterly destroy.

28 The earth shall mourn, and the heavens shall lament from above: because I have spoken, I have purposed, and I have not repented, neither am I turned away from it.

29 At the voice of the horsemen, and the archers, all the city is fled away: they have entered into thickets and have climbed up the rocks : all the cities are forsaken, and there dwelleth not a man in them.

 

 

Ezechiel, Chapter 38

 

Gog shall persecute the church in the latter days. He shall be overthrown.

 

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 * Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal: and prophesy of him,

* Ezech. 39:1, Apoc. 20:7

2 Gog. This name, which signifies hidden or covered, is taken in this place, either for the persecutors of the church of God in general, or some arch-persecutor in particular: such as Antichrist shall be in the latter days. See Apoc. 20:8. And what is said of the punishment of Gog is verified by the unhappy ends of persecutors.

2 Magog. Scythia or Tartary, from whence the Turks, and other enemies of the church of Christ, originally sprung.

3 And say to him: Thus saith the Lord God : Behold, I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal.

4 And I will turn thee about, and I will put a bit in thy jaws: and I will bring thee forth, and all thy army, horses and horsemen all clothed with coats of mail, a great multitude, armed with spears and shields and swords.

5 The Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans with them, all with shields and helmets.

6 Gomer, and all his bands, the house of Thogorma, the northern parts and all his strength, and many peoples with thee.

7 Prepare and make thyself ready, and all thy multitude that is assembled about thee, and be thou commander over them.

8 After many days thou shalt be visited: at the end of years thou shalt come to the land that is returned from the sword, and is gathered out of many nations, to the mountains of Israel which have been continually waste : but it hath been brought forth out of the nations, and they shall all of them dwell securely in it.

9 And thou shalt go up and come like a storm, and like a cloud to cover the land, thou and all thy bands and many people with thee.

10 Thus saith the Lord God : In that day projects shall enter into thy heart, and thou shalt conceive a mischievous design.

11 And thou shalt say: I will go up to the land which is without a wall, I will come to them that are at rest, and dwell securely : all these dwell without a wall, they have no bars nor gates :

12 To take spoils, and lay hold on the prey, to lay thy hand upon them that had been wasted, and afterwards restored, and upon the people that is gathered together out of the nations, which hath begun to possess and to dwell in the midst of the earth.

13 Saba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tharsis, and all the lions thereof shall say to thee: Art thou come to take spoils ? behold, thou hast gathered thy multitude to take a prey, to take silver, and gold, and to carry away goods and substance, and to take rich spoils.

14 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy and say to Gog: Thus saith the Lord God: Shalt thou not know, in that day, when my people of Israel shall dwell securely ?

15 And thou shalt come out of thy place from the northern parts, thou and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army.

16 And thou shalt come upon my people of Israel like a cloud, to cover the earth. Thou shalt be in the latter days, and I will bring thee upon my land : that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.

17 Thus saith the Lord God : Thou then art he, of whom I have spoken in the days of old, by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in the days of those times that I would bring thee upon them.

18 And it shall come to pass in that day, in the day of the coming of Gog upon the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my indignation shall come up in my wrath.

19 And I have spoken in my zeal, and in the fire of my anger, that in that day there shall be a great commotion upon the land of Israel:

20 * So that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the ground, and all men that are upon the face of the earth, shall be moved at my presence : and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the hedges shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

* Matt. 24:29, Luke 21:25

21 And I will call in the sword against him in all my mountains, saith the Lord God : every man's sword shall be pointed against his brother.

22 And I will judge him with pestilence, and with blood, and with violent rain, and vast hailstones : I will rain fire and brimstone upon him, and upon his army, and upon the many nations that are with him.

23 And I will be magnified and I will be sanctified : and I will be known in the eyes of many nations : and they shall know that I am the Lord.

 

 

Ezechiel, Chapter 39

 

God's judgments upon Gog. God's people were punished for their sins: but shall be favoured with everlasting kindness.

 

1 And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say : Thus saith the Lord God : Behold, I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal.

2 And I will turn thee round, and I will lead thee out, and will make thee go up from the northern parts: and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.

3 And I will break thy bow in thy left hand, and I will cause thy arrows to fall out of thy right hand.

4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou and all thy bands, and thy nations that are with thee : I have given thee to the wild beasts, to the birds, and to every fowl, and to the beasts of the earth to be devoured.

5 Thou shalt fall upon the face of the field : for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God.

6 And I will send a fire on Magog, and on them that dwell confidently in the islands: and they shall know that I am the Lord.

7 And I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel, and my holy name shall be profaned no more : and the Gentiles shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.

8 Behold it cometh, and it is done, saith the Lord God: this is the day whereof I have spoken.

9 And the inhabitants shall go forth of the cities of Israel, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, the shields, and the spears, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves and the pikes: and they shall burn them with fire seven years.

10 And they shall not bring wood out of the countries, nor cut down out of the forests: for they shall burn the weapons with fire, and shall make a prey of them to whom they had been a prey, and they shall rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord God.

11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give Gog a noted place for a sepulchre in Israel: the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea, which shall cause astonishment in them that pass by : and there shall they bury Gog, and all his multitude, and it shall be called the valley of the multitude of Gog.

12 And the house of Israel shall bury them for seven months to cleanse the land.

13 And all the people of the land shall bury him, and it shall be unto them a noted day, wherein I was glorified, saith the Lord God.

14 And they shall appoint men to go continually about the land, to bury and to seek out them that were remaining upon the face of the earth, that they may cleanse it : and after seven months they shall begin to seek.

15 And they shall go about passing through the land: and when they shall see the bone of a man, they shall set up a sign by it, till the buriers bury it in the valley of the multitude of Gog.

16 And the name of the city shall be Amona, and they shall cleanse the land.

17 And thou, O son of man, saith the Lord God, say to every fowl, and to all the birds, and to all the beasts of the field: Assemble yourselves, make haste, come together from every side to my victim, which I slay for you, a great victim upon the mountains of Israel : to eat flesh, and drink blood.

18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and you shall drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, and of lambs, and of he goats, and bullocks, and of all that are well fed and fat.

19 And you shall eat the fat till you be full, and shall drink blood till you be drunk of the victim which I shall slay for you.

20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses, and mighty horsemen, and all the men of war, saith the Lord God.

21 And I will set my glory among the nations: and all nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

22 And the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward.

23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel were made captives for their iniquity, because they forsook me, and I hid my face from them: and I delivered them into the hands of their enemies, and they fell all by the sword.

24 I have dealt with them according to their uncleanness, and wickedness, and hid my face from them.

25 Therefore, thus saith the Lord God: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and will have mercy on all the house of Israel: and I will be jealous for my holy name.

26 And they shall bear their confusion, and all the transgressions wherewith they have transgressed against me, when they shall dwell in their land securely fearing no man :

27 And I shall have brought them back from among the nations, and shall have gathered them together out of the lands of their enemies, and shall be sanctified in them, in the sight of many nations.

28 * And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I caused them to be carried away among the nations ; and I have gathered them together unto their own land, and have not left any of them there.

* Ezech. 36:23

29 And I will hide my face no more from them, for I have poured out my spirit upon all the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.

 

 

Zacharias, Chapter 14

 

After the persecutions of the church shall follow great prosperity. Persecutors shall be punished : so shall all that will not serve God in his church.

 

1 Behold the days of the Lord shall come, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee.

2 And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be rifled, and the women shall be defiled : and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall not be taken away out of the city.

2 I will gather, &c. This seems to be a prophecy of what was done by Antiochus.

3 Then the Lord shall go forth, and shall fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem toward the east : and the mount of Olives shall be divided in the midst thereof to the east, and to the west with a very great opening, and half of the mountain shall be separated to the north, and half thereof to the south.

5 And you shall flee to the valley of those mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next, and you shall flee * as you fled from the face of the earthquake in the days of Ozias king of Juda : and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him.

* Amos 1:1

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall be no light, but cold and frost.

6 No light. Viz., in that dismal time of persecution of Antiochus, when it was neither day nor night : (ver. 7) because they neither had the comfortable light of the day, nor the repose of the night.

7 And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, not day nor night : and in the time of the evening there shall be light.

7 In the time of the evening there shall be light. An unexpected light shall arise by the means of the Machabees, when things shall seem to be at the worst.

8 And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem : half of them to the east sea, and half of them to the last sea : they shall be in summer and in winter.

8 Living waters. Viz., the gospel of Christ.

9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth : in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one.

10 And all the land shall return even to the desert, from the hill to Remmon to the south of Jerusalem : and she shall be exalted, and shall dwell in her own place, from the gate of Benjamin even to the place of the former gate, and even to the gate of the corners : and from the tower of Hananeel even to the king's winepresses.

10 All the land shall return, &c. This, in some measure, was verified by the means of the Machabees : but is rather to be taken in a spiritual sense, as relating to the propagation of the church and kingdom of Christ, the true Jerusalem, which alone shall never fall under the anathema of destruction, or God's curse.

11 And people shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more an anathema : but Jerusalem shall sit secure.

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall strike all nations that have fought against Jerusalem : the flesh of every one shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

12 The flesh of every one shall consume, &c. Such judgments as these have often fallen upon the persecutors of God's church, as appears by many instances in history.

13 In that day there shall be a great tumult from the Lord among them : and a man shall take the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall be clasped upon his neighbour's hand.

14 And even Juda shall fight against Jerusalem : and the riches of all nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and garments in great abundance.

14 Even Juda, &c. The carnal Jews, and other false brothers, shall join in persecuting the church.

15 And the destruction of the horse, and of the mule, and of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts, that shall be in those tents, shall be like this destruction.

15 Shall be like this destruction. That is, the beasts shall be destroyed as well as the men : the common soldiers as well as their leaders.

16 And all they that shall be left of all nations that came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

16 They that shall be left, &c. That is, many of them that persecuted the church shall be converted to its faith and communion.

16 To keep the feast of tabernacles. This feast was kept by the Jews in memory of their sojourning forty years in the desert, in their way to the land of promise. And in the spiritual sense is duly kept by all such Christians as in their earthly pilgrimage are continually advancing toward their true home, the heavenly Jerusalem ; by the help of the sacraments and sacrifice of the church. And they that neglect this must not look for the kind showers of divine grace, to give fruitfulness to their souls.

17 And it shall come to pass, that he that shall not go up of the families of the land to Jerusalem, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, there shall be no rain upon them.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up nor come : neither shall it be upon them, but there shall be destruction wherewith the Lord will strike all nations that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19 This shall be the sin of Egypt, and this the sin of all nations, that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20 In that day that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord : and the caldrons in the house of the Lord shall be as the phials before the altar.

20 That which is upon the bridle, &c. The golden ornaments of the bridles, &c., shall be turned into offerings in the house of God. And there shall be an abundance of caldrons and phials for the sacrifices of the temple ; by which is meant, under a figure, the great resort there shall be to the temple, that is, to the church of Christ, and her sacrifice.

21 And every caldron in Jerusalem and Juda shall be sanctified to the Lord of hosts : and all that sacrifice shall come, and take of them, and shall seethe in them : andthe merchant shall be no more in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.

21 The merchant shall be no more, &c. Or, as some render it, The Chanaanite shall be no more, &c., that is, the profane and unbelievers shall have no title to be in the house of the Lord. Or there shall be no occasion for buyers or sellers of oxen, or sheep, or doves, in the house of God, such as Jesus Christ cast out of the temple.

 
Make a Free Website with Yola.