Revelation 19:10

uld be ascribed to him, and his power is that alone by which it is effected. Verse 2 For true and righteous - His judgments displayed in supporting his followers, and punishing his enemies, are true - according to his predictions; and righteous, being all according to infinite justice and equity. Verse 3 Her smoke rose up - There was, and shall be, a continual evidence of God's judgments executed on this great whore or idolatrous city; nor shall it ever be restored. Verse 4 The four and twenty elders - The true Church of the Lord Jesus converted from among the Jews. See Rev 4:10 ; Rev 5:14 . Verse 5 Praise our God, etc. - Let all, whether redeemed from among Jews or Gentiles, give glory to God. Verse 6 The voice of a great multitude - This is the catholic or universal Church of God gathered from among the Gentiles. The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth - Εβασιλευσε Κυριος ὁ Θεος ὁ παντοκρατωρ. Many excellent MSS., most of the versions, with Andreas and Arethas, the two most ancient commentators on this book, add ἡμων, our, after ὁ Θεος· and according to this the text reads emphatically thus: Our Lord God, the Almighty, reigneth. What consolation to every genuine Christian that His Lord and God is the Almighty, and that this Almighty never trusts the reins of the government of the universe out of his hands! What therefore has his Church to fear? Verse 7 The marriage of the Lamb is come - The meaning of these figurative expressions appears to be this: After this overthrow of idolatry and superstition, and the discomfiture of antichrist, there will be a more glorious state of Christianity than ever was before. Verse 8 Arrayed in fine linen - A prediction that the Church should become more pure in her doctrines, more pious in her experience, and more righteous in her conduct, than she had ever been from her formation. The fine linen here spoken of is not the righteousness of Christ imputed to believers, for it is here called the righteousness of the saints - that which the grace and Spirit of Christ has wrought in them. Verse 9 Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper - This is an evident allusion to the marriage of the king's son, Mat 22:2 , etc., where the incarnation of our Lord, and the calling of Jews and Gentiles, are particularly pointed out. See the notes on Mat 22:2 . Blessed are all they who hear the Gospel, and are thus invited to lay hold on everlasting life. Verse 10 I fell at his feet to worship him - Great as this angel was, St. John could not mistake him either for Jesus Christ, or for God the Father; nor was his prostration intended as an act of religious worship. It was merely an act of that sort of reverence which any Asiatic would pay to a superior. His mistake was, the considering that he was under obligation to the angel for the information which he had now received. This mistake the angel very properly corrects, showing him that it was from God alone this intelligence came, and that to him alone the praise was due. I am thy fellow servant - No higher in dignity than thyself; employed by the same God, on the same errand, and with the same testimony; and therefore not entitled to thy prostration: worship God - prostrate thyself to him, and to him give thanks. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy - As this is a reason given by the angel why he should not worship him, the meaning must be this: I, who have received this spirit of prophecy, am not superior to thee who hast received the testimony of Christ, to preach him among the Gentiles; for the commission containing such a testimony is equal to the gift of the spirit of prophecy. Or, the spirit of prophecy is a general testimony concerning Jesus, for he is the scope and design of the whole Scripture; to him gave all the prophets witness. Take Jesus, his grace, Spirit, and religion out of the Bible, and it has neither scope, design, object, nor end. Verse 11 A white horse - This is an exhibition of the triumph of Christ after the destruction of his enemies. The white horse is the emblem of this, and Faithful and True are characters of Christ. See Rev 3:14 . In righteousness he doth judge and make war - The wars which he wages are from no principle of ambition, lust of power, or extension of conquest and dominion; they are righteous in their principle and in their object. And this is perhaps what no earthly potentate could ever say. Verse 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire - To denote the piercing and all-penetrating nature of his wisdom. On his head were many crowns - To denote the multitude of his conquests, and the extent of his dominion. A name written, that no man knew - This is a reference to what the rabbins call the shem hammephorash, or tetragrammaton, יהוה Yhvh; or what we call Jehovah. This name the Jews never attempt to pronounce: when they meet with it in the Bible, they read אדני Adonai for it; but, to a man, they all declare that no man can pronounce it; and that the true pronunciation has been lost, at least since the Babylonish captivity; and that God alone knows its true interpretation and pronunciation. This, therefore, is the name which no man knew but he himself. Verse 13 He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood - To show that he was just come from recent slaughter. The description is taken from Isa 63:2 , Isa 63:3 , where Judas Maccabeus, or some other conqueror, is described. The Word of God - Written in the Targum, and in other Jewish writings, מימרא דיי meimera daiya, "the word of Jehovah;" by which they always mean a person, and not a word spoken. See the notes on Joh 1:1 , etc. Verse 14 The armies which were in heaven - Angels and saints over whom Jesus Christ is Captain, Clothed in fine linen - All holy, pure, and righteous. Verse 15 Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword - See on Rev 1:16 (note). This appears to mean the word of the Gospel, by which his enemies are confounded, and his friends supported and comforted. With a rod of iron - He shall execute the severest judgment on the opposers of his truth. He treaded the winepress - As the grapes are trodden to express the juice, so his enemies shall be bruised and beaten, so that their life's blood shall be poured out. Verse 16 On his vesture and on his thigh a name written - Dr. Dodd has well observed on this passage, that "it appears to have been an ancient custom among several nations to adorn the images of their deities, princes, victors at public games, and other eminent persons, with inscriptions, expressing either the character of the persons, their names, or some other circumstance which might contribute to their honor; and to that custom the description here given of Christ may possibly have some allusion. "There are several such images yet extant, with an inscription written either on the garment, or on one of the thighs, or on that part of the garment which was over the thigh; and probably this is the meaning of the apostle. And as these inscriptions are placed on the upper garment, Grotius seems very justly to have explained the words επι το ἱματιον, by his imperial robe, that his power in this victory might be conspicuous to all. But as a farther confirmation of this sense of the passage it may not be improper here to describe briefly several remarkable figures of this sort, which are still extant." This description I shall give from my own examination. 1. Herodotus, Euterpe, lib. ii. p. 127, edit. Gale, speaking of the actions of Sesostris, and of the images he set up in the countries which he conquered, has the following words: Εισι δε περι Ιωνιην δυο τυποι εν πετρῃσι εγκεκολαμμενοι τουτου του ανδρος, κ. τ. λ. "Two images likewise of this man are seen in Ionia, on the way that leads from Ephesus to Phocaea, and from Sardis to Smyrna. The figure is five palms in height; in his right hand he holds a dart, in his left a bow, armed after the manner of the Egyptians and Ethiopians. On a line drawn across the breast, from one shoulder to the other, are these words, written in Egyptian hieroglyphics: Εγω τηνδε την χωρην ωμοισι τοισι εμοισι εκτησαμην· 'I obtained this country by these my shoulders;'" i.e., by my own power. 2. In the Etruria Regalis of Dempster, in the appendix at the end of vol. ii., there is a beautiful female figure of brass, about twelve inches high, the hair gracefully plaited, and the head adorned with a diadem. She has a tunic without sleeves, and over that a sort of pallium. On the outside of the right thigh, close to the tunic, and probably on it, in the original, is an inscription in Etruscan characters. What these import I cannot say. Dempster has given a general explanation of the image in the appendix to the above volume, p. 108. The plate itself is the eighty-third of the work. 3. There are two other images found in the same author, vol. i., p. 91, tab. xxiv.; the first is naked, with the exception of a short loose jupe, or petticoat, which goes round the loins, and over the left arm. On the left thigh of this image there is an inscription in Etruscan characters. The second has a similar jupe, but much longer, which extends to the calf of the leg, and is supported over the bended left arm. Over the right thigh, on this vesture, there is an Etruscan inscription in two lines. 4. Montfaucon, Antiquite Expliquee, vol. iii., part 2, p. 268, has introduced an account of two fine images, which are represented tab. CLVII. The first is a warrior entirely naked, except a collar, one bracelet, and boots. On his left thigh, extending from the groin to a little below the knee, is an inscription in very ancient Etruscan characters, in two lines, but the import is unknown. The second is a small figure of brass, about six inches long, with a loose tunic, which is suspended from the left shoulder down to the calf of the legs. On this tunic, over the left thigh, is an inscription (perhaps) in very ancient Latin characters, but in the Etruscan language, as the learned author conjectures. It is in one line, but what it means is equally unknown. 5. In the same work, p. 269, tab. CLVIII., another Etruscan warrior is represented entirely naked; on the left thigh is the following words in uncial Greek letters, ΚΑΦΙΣΟΔΩΡΟΣ, and on the right thigh, ΑΙΣΧΛΑΜΙΟΥ, i.e., "Kaphisodorus, the son of Aischlamius." All these inscriptions are written longitudinally on the thigh. 6. Gruter, vol. iii., p. DCCCCLXXXIX, sub. tit. Affectus Servorum et Libertinorum inter se, et in suos, gives us the figure of a naked warrior, with his left hand on an axe, the end of whose helve rests on the ground, with the following inscription on the inside of his left thigh, longitudinally written, as in all other cases: - A. Poblicius. D. L. Antioc. Ti. Barbius. Q. P. L. Tiber. 7. The rabbins say, that "God gave to the Israelites a sword, on which the ineffable name יהוה Yehovah was inscribed; and as long as they held that sword the angel of death had no power over them." Shemoth Rabba, sec. 51, fol. 143, 2. Bemidbar Rabba, sec. 12, fol. 214, 2. In the latter tract, sec. 16, fol. 232, 3, and in Rab. Tanchum, fol. 66, mention is made of the guardian angels of the Israelites, who were clothed with purple vestments, on which was inscribed שם המפורש shem hammephorash, the ineffable name. See more in Schoettgen. 8. But what comes nearer to the point, in reference to the title given here to Christ, is what is related of Sesostris by Diodorus Siculus, lib. i. c. 55, p. 166, edit. Bipont, of whom he says: "Having pushed his conquests as far as Thrace, he erected pillars, on which were the following words in Egyptian hieroglyphics: Τηνδε την χωραν ὁπλοις κατεστρεψατο τοις ἑαυτου Βασιλευς Βασιλεων, και Δεσποτης Δεσποτων, Σεσοωσις·" This province, Sesoosis, (Sesostris), King of Kings and Lord of Lords, conquered by his own arms. This inscription is conceived almost in the words of St. John. Now the Greek historian did not borrow the words from the apostle, as he died in the reign of Augustus, about the time of our Lord's incarnation. This cannot be the same inscription mentioned above by Herodotus, the one being in Ionia, the other in Thrace: but as he erected several of those pillars or images, probably a nearly similar inscription was found on each. 9. This custom seems to have been common among the ancient Egyptians. Inscriptions are frequently found on the images of Isis, Osiris, Anubis, etc., at the feet, on the head, on the back, on the girdle, etc., etc. Eight of those ancient images in my own collection abound with these inscriptions. 1. Osiris, four inches and a quarter high, standing on a thrones all covered over with hieroglyphics exquisitely engraved. 2. Anubis, six inches high, with a tiara, on the back of which is cut ΛΕΓΟΡΝΥΘ , in uncial Greek characters. 3. The Cercopithecus, seven inches long, sitting on a pedestal, and at his feet, in the same characters, ΧΑΔΕΟ. 4. An Isis, about eight inches high, on her back ΔΡΥΓΟ. 5. Ditto, seven inches, beautifully cut, standing, holding a serpent in her left hand, and at her feet ΕΤΑΠΥΓΙ. 6. Ditto, five inches and a quarter, round whose girdle is ΠΙΕΥΧΥΔΙ; but part of this inscription appears to be hidden under her arms, which are extended by her side. 7. Ditto, five inches high, hooded, with a loose stola, down the back of which are seven lines of Greek uncial characters, but nearly obliterated. 8. Ditto, four inches high, with a girdle going round the back immediately under the arms, the front of which is hidden under a sort of a stomacher; on the part that appears are these characters, ΧΕΝΛΑ. These may be all intended as a kind of abrasaxas or tutelary deities; and I give this notice of them, and the inscriptions upon them, partly in illustration of the text, and partly to engage my learned and antiquarian readers in attempts to decipher them. I would have given the Etruscan characters on the other images described above, but have no method of imitating them except by an engraving. As these kinds of inscriptions on the thigh, the garments, and different parts of the body, were in use among different nations, to express character, conduct, qualities, and conquests, we may rest assured that to them St. John alludes when he represents our sovereign Lord with an inscription upon his vesture and upon his thigh; and had we not found it a custom among other nations, we should have been at a loss to account for its introduction and meaning here. Verse 17 An angel standing in the sun - Exceedingly luminous; every part of him emitting rays of light. From this representation, Milton has taken his description of Uriel, the angel of the sun. Paradise Lost, b. iii. l. 648 - "The Archangel Uriel, one of the seven Who, in God's presence, nearest to his throne Stands ready at command and are his eyes That run through all the heavens, or down to the earth Bears his swift errands over moist and dry, Over sea and land." All the fowls that fly - The carcasses of God's enemies shall be food for all the fowls of heaven. This is according to a Jewish tradition, Synopsis Sohar, p. 114, n. 25: "In the time when God shall execute vengeance for the people of Israel, he shall feed all the beasts of the earth for twelve months with their flesh and all the fowls for seven years." It is well known that both beasts and birds of prey are accustomed to frequent fields of battle, and live upon the slain. Verse 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings - There shall be a universal destruction; the kings, generals, captains, and all their host, shall be slain. Verse 19 I saw the beast - See the notes on Revelation 12 (note), Revelation 13 (note) and Revelation 17 (note). Verse 20 And the beast was taken, and - the false prophet - See the notes on Rev 17:8 , etc. That worshipped his image - The beast has been represented as the Latin empire; the image of the beast, the popes of Rome; and the false prophet, the papal clergy. Were cast alive into a lake of fire - Were discomfited when alive - in the zenith of their power, and destroyed with an utter destruction. Verse 21 With the sword of him that sat upon the horse - He who sat on the white horse is Christ; and his sword is his word - the unadulterated Gospel. Introduction An angel binds Satan a thousand years, and shuts him up in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:1-3 . They who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, who have part in the first resurrection, and shall reign with Christ a thousand years, Rev 20:4-6 . When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, shall go forth and deceive the nations, and shall gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the earth, Rev 20:7 , Rev 20:8 . These shall besiege the holy city; but fire shall come down from heaven and consume them, and they and the devil be cast into a lake of fire, Rev 20:9 , Rev 20:10 . The great white throne, and the dead, small and great, standing before God, and all judged according to their works, Rev 20:11 , Rev 20:12 . The sea, death, and hades, give up their dead, and are destroyed; and all not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, Rev 20:13-15 . Verse 1 An angel came down from heaven - One of the executors of the Divine justice, who receives criminals, and keeps them in prison, and delivers them up only to be tried and executed. The key of the prison and the chain show who he is; and as the chain was great, it shows that the culprit was impeached of no ordinary crimes. Verse 2 The dragon - See the notes on Rev 12:9 . That old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan - He who is called the old serpent is the Devil - the calumniator, and Satan - the opposer. He who supposes that the term old serpent here plainly proves that the creature that tempted our first parents was actually a snake, must enjoy his opinion; and those who can receive such a saying, why let them receive it. Selah. A thousand years - In what this binding of Satan consists, who can tell? How many visions have been seen on this subject both in

rone, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small 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 mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The triumphant song being ended, and epithalamium, or marriage-song, begins, v. 6 . Here observe, I. The concert of heavenly music. The chorus was large and loud, as the voice of many waters and of mighty thunderings. God is fearful in praises. There is no discord in heaven; the morning stars sing together; no jarring string, nor key untuned, but pure and perfect melody. II. The occasion of this song; and that is the reign and dominion of that omnipotent God who has redeemed his church by his own blood, and is now in a more public manner betrothing her to himself: The marriage of the Lamb has come, v. 7 . Some think this refers to the conversion of the Jews, which they suppose will succeed the fall of Babylon; others, to the general resurrection: the former seems more probable. Now, 1. You have here a description of the bride, how she appeared; not in the gay and gaudy dress of the mother of harlots, but in fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints; in the robes of Christ's righteousness, both imputed for justification and imparted for sanctification—the stola, the white robe of absolution, adoption, and enfranchisement, and the white robe of purity and universal holiness. She had washed her robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; and these her nuptial ornaments she did not purchase by any price of her own, but received them as the gift and grant of her blessed Lord. 2. The marriage-feast, which, though not particularly described (as Matt. xxii. 4 ), yet is declared to be such as would make all those happy who were called to it, so called as to accept the invitation, a feast made up of the promises of the gospel, the true sayings of God, v. 9 . These promises, opened, applied, sealed, and earnested by the Spirit of God, in holy eucharistical ordinances, are the marriage-feast; and the whole collective body of all those who partake of this feast is the bride, the Lamb's wife; they eat into one body, and drink into one Spirit, and are not mere spectators or guests, but coalesce into the espoused party, the mystical body of Christ. 3. The transport of joy which the apostle felt in himself at this vision. He fell down at the feet of the angel, to worship him, supposing him to be more than a creature, or having his thoughts at the present overpowered by the vehemency of his affections. Here observe, (1.) What honour he offered to the angel: He fell at his feet, to worship him; this prostration was a part of external worship, it was a posture of proper adoration. (2.) How the angel refused it, and this was with some resentment: " See thou do it not; have a care what thou doest, thou art doing a wrong thing." (3.) He gave a very good reason for his refusal: " I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren which have the testimony of Jesus —I am a creature, thine equal in office, though not in nature; I, as an angel and messenger of God, have the testimony of Jesus, a charge to be a witness for him and to testify concerning him, and thou, as an apostle, having the Spirit of prophecy, hast the same testimony to give in; and therefore we are in this brethren and fellow-servants." (4.) He directs him to the true and only object of religious worship; namely, God: " Worship God, and him alone." This fully condemns both the practice of the papists in worshipping the elements of bread and wine, and saints, and angels, and the practice of those Socinians and Arians who do not believe that Christ is truly and by nature God, and yet pay him religious worship; and this shows what wretched fig-leaves all their evasions and excuses are which they offer in their own vindication: they stand hereby convicted of idolatry by a messenger from heaven. The Triumph of the Saints. ( a. d. 95.) 11 And I saw heaven opened, and beho

And I fell before his feet to worship him - It seems, mistaking him for the angel of the covenant. But he saith, See thou do it not - In the original, it is only, See not, with a beautiful abruptness. To pray to or worship the highest creature is flat idolatry. I am thy fellowservant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus - I am now employed as your fellowservant, to testify of the Lord Jesus, by the same Spirit which inspired the prophets of old.

And I fell at his feet to worship him. At the feet of the angel. Barnes on "Re 19:9". This is a common posture of adoration in the East. See Rosenmuller's Morgenland, in loc. 1Cor 14:25. John was entirely overcome with the majesty of the heavenly messenger, and with the amazing truths that he had disclosed to him, and in the overflowing of his feelings he fell upon the earth in the posture of adoration. Or it may be that he mistook the rank of him who addressed him, and supposed that he was the Messiah whom he had been accustomed to worship, and who had first (chapter 1) appeared to him. If so, his error was soon corrected. He was told by the angel himself who made these communications that he had no claims to such homage, and that the praise which he offered him should be rendered to God alone. It should be observed that there is not the slightest intimation that this was the Messiah himself, and consequently this does not contain any evidence that it would be improper to worship him. The only fair conclusion from the passage is, that it is wrong to offer religious homage to an angel. And he said unto me, See thou do it not. That is, in rendering the homage which you propose to me, you would in fact render it to a worship; creature. This may be regarded as an admonition to be careful in our not to allow our feelings to overcome us; and not to render that homage to a creature which is due to God alone. Of course, this would prohibit the worship of the Virgin Mary, and of any of the saints, and all that homage rendered to a created being which is due to God only. Nothing is more carefully guarded in the Bible than the purity and simplicity of worship; nothing is more sternly rebuked than idolatry; nothing is more contrary to the Divine law than rendering in any way that homage to a creature which belongs of right to the Creator. It was necessary to guard even John, the beloved disciple, on that subject; how much more needful, therefore, is it to guard the church at large from the dangers to which it is liable. I am thy fellow servant. Evidently this was an angel, and yet he here speaks of himself as a "fellow-servant" of John. That is, he was engaged in the service of the same God; he was endeavouring to advance the same cause, and to honour the same Redeemer. The sentiment is, that in promoting religion in the world, we are associated with angels. It is no condescension in them to be engaged in the service of the Redeemer, though it seems to be condescension for them to be associated with us in anything; it constitutes, no ground of merit in us to be engaged in the service of the Redeemer, (compare Lk 17:10,) though we may regard it as an honour to be associated with the angels, and it may raise us in conscious dignity to feel that we are united with them. And of thy brethren. Of other Christians; for all are engaged in the same work. That have the testimony of Jesus. Who are witnesses for the Saviour. It is possible that there may be here a particular reference to those who were engaged in preaching the gospel, though the language will apply to all who give their testimony to the value of the gospel by consistent lives. Worship God. He is the only proper object of worship; he alone is to be adored. For the testimony of Jesus. The meaning here seems to be, that this angel, and John, and their fellow-servants, were all engaged in the same work--that of bearing their testimony to Jesus. Thus, in this respect, they were on a level, and one of them should not worship another, but all should unite in the common worship of God. No one in this work, though an angel, could have such a pre-eminence that it would be proper to render the homage to him which was due to God alone. There could be but one being whom it was proper to worship, and they who were engaged in simply bearing testimony to the work of the Saviour should not worship one another. Is the spirit of prophecy. The design of prophecy is to bear testimony to Jesus. The language does not mean, of course, that this is the only design of prophecy, but that this is its great and ultimate end. The word prophecy here seems to be used in the large sense in which it is often employed in the New Testament--meaning to make known the Divine will, ( Rom 12:6,) and the primary reference here would seem to be to the preachers and teachers of the New Testament. The sense is, that their grand business is to bear testimony to the Saviour. They are all--whether angels, apostles, or ordinary teachers--appointed for this, and therefore should regard themselves as "fellow-servants." The design of the angel in this seems to have been, to state to John what was his own specific business in the communications which he made, and then to state a universal truth applicable to all ministers of the gospel, that they were engaged in the same work, and that no one of them should claim adoration from others. Thus understood, this passage has no direct reference to the prophecies of the Old Testament, and teaches nothing in regard to their design, though it is in fact undoubtedly true that their grand and leading object was to bear testimony to the future Messiah. But this passage will not justify the attempt so often made to "find Christ" everywhere in the prophecies of the Old Testament, or justify the many forced and unnatural interpretations by which the prophecies are often applied to him. (i) "I fell" Rev 22:8,9 (k) "Jesus" Acts 10:43, 1Pet 1:10,11 Verse 11.