Part 5

Those who teach that the Apocalypse is a “sealed book,” most clearly contradict the testimony of Christ respecting it. To discourage the study of it, is to treat with neglect, and to despise what God has spoken in these last days by his Son, Heb. 1:2; of whom it is said: “See that ye refuse not him that speaketh; for if they escaped not who refused him who spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven,” Heb. 12:25. Those who thus neglect it, cannot regard the blessing promised to those who read, hear, and keep its sayings.

The Apocalypse is not to be undervalued as unprofitable; for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works,” 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope,” Rom. 15:4. “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me,” John 5:39. “Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me,” Isa. 45:11. “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book,” Rev. 22:7.

John’s Salutation to the Churches.

“John to the seven congregations in Asia: grace be to you and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to be; and from the seven Spirits, that are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, and the First-born of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests to God even his father: to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye will see him, and those, who pierced him: and all the tribes of the earth will wail because of him. Yea, so be it! I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to be, the Almighty.”—Rev. 1:4-8.

The seven churches to which John sends salutation, were those of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, 1:11. The Asia, in which they were situated, was a province in Asia Minor, distinct from Pontus, Gallatia, and Bithynia; which also were in Asia Minor, 1 Pet. 1:1, and Acts 2:9. Of the province of Asia, Ephesus was the capital, and was the principal place of John’s residence. The seven cities which contained those churches, were situated in a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded by mountains. Smyrna was 46 miles north of Ephesus, and Pergamos 64 miles; Thyatira was 48 miles to the east, and Sardis 33 miles; Philadelphia 27 miles to the south, and Laodicea 42 miles. These churches had all been under the general supervision of John’s ministry; and for this reason, doubtless, they are especially designated, instead of those with which he had not been so intimately connected.

John writes to the seven churches, in obedience to the command,—“What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia,” 1:11. He seems to have written what he saw, at the time of its exhibition, and not at the close of the entire presentation; for when he was about to write the discordant utterances of “the seven thunders,” he was told to “write them not,” 10:4.

John observes the oriental custom of placing his name at the commencement, instead of the close of his communication. Few persons now deny that this was John the Evangelist. Irenæus, who was born only about 30 years after the death of John, speaks of the writer of the Apocalypse, as “the disciple of Christ,—that same John that leaned on his breast at the last supper.”

Most beautiful reference is here made to the attributes of DEITY: “Him who is, and who was, and who is to be,” can be no other than the great Preëxistent, who said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM,” Ex. 13:14.

The seven Spirits, would seem to be irrelevantly placed between the Father and the Son,—the place always occupied by the Holy Spirit, when spoken of in connection with them,—if they were merely seven angels. Grace would also seem to be irreverently invoked from such,—its presence being implied where it is invoked,—unless they are expressive of the Holy Spirit, in which grace is inherent, and from whom it may be communicated; as it may not be from angels. Seven is a full and perfect number, and it may be here used because in another place “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne” are symbolic of “the seven Spirits of God,” (4:5); which, if angels, would be expressly named, as in other inspired explanations,—as they are in that of the stars, 1:20. A burning flame is often used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Thus, when God would make a covenant with Abraham, and the victims between which the covenanting parties were to pass, were divided, the presence of God was symbolized by “a burning lamp that passed between those pieces,” Gen. 15:17. And the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, was manifested by “cloven tongues, like as of fire,” which “sat upon each of them,” Acts 2:3. In Zechariah 3:9, we read of the symbol of a stone laid before Joshua, that on it were engraved “seven eyes,” which “are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro, through the whole earth,” (Zech. 4:10);—an expressive figure of God’s Omniscience. The same is symbolized in Rev. 5:6, by the “seven eyes” of the LAMB.

Jesus Christ is the faithful Witness. He “was faithful to him that appointed him,” (Heb. 3:2); and he was given as a Witness to the people, a Leader and Commander to the people, Isa. 55:4. He is the “first-begotten of the dead,” having “risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept,” 1 Cor. 15:20: he is “declared to be the Son of God, with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead,” Rom. 1:4. He is “the Prince of the kings of the earth,” the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” 19:16; “all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him,” Psa. 72:11. He hath shown how he “loved us,” by giving himself for us, (Gal. 2:20); and hath cleansed his people from all sin, not “by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us,” Heb. 9:12. He has redeemed us to God “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation,” Rev. 5:9. He is the one who is to come in the clouds of heaven, in resplendent majesty, to reward his saints, and to destroy those who destroy the earth, 11:18. The announcement that he “cometh with clouds” is as if John had said that what he was commanded to write, was a revelation of the events which were to precede and usher in that coming.

Christ’s Annunciation.

“I John, your brother, and partner in the affliction, and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, like that of a trumpet, saying, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it to the seven congregations, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”—Rev. 1:9-11.

This gives a clue to the date of the Apocalypse. It was written when John was in the Isle of Patmos: “It is the general testimony of ancient authors, that St. John was banished into Patmos in the time of Domitian, in the latter part of his reign, and restored by his successor, Nerva. But the book could not be published till after John’s release, and return to Ephesus, in Asia. Domitian died in 96, and his persecution did not commence till near the close of his reign.”—DR. CLARKE.

“DOMITIAN, having exercised his cruelty against many, and unjustly slain no small number of noble and illustrious men at Rome, ... at length established himself as the successor of NERO, in his hatred and hostility to GOD. He was the second that raised a persecution against us. In this persecution, it is handed down by tradition, that the apostle and evangelist, JOHN, ... was condemned to dwell on the island of Patmos. IRENÆUS, indeed, in his fifth book against the heresies, where he speaks of the calculation formed on the epithet of Antichrist, in the above-mentioned Revelation of JOHN, speaks in the following manner respecting him: ‘If, however, it were necessary to proclaim his name (i.e. Antichrist’s), openly at the present time, it would have been declared by him who saw the Revelation, for it was not long since it was seen, but almost in our own times, at the close of DOMITIAN’s reign.’ ”—EUSEBIUS.

Prof. Stuart, who dissents from the opinion, admits that “a majority of the older critics have been inclined to adopt the opinion of Irenæus, viz.: that it was written during the reign of Domitian, i.e., during the last part of the first century, or in A. D. 95 or 96.”—Com. Apoc., V. I., p. 263.

John’s adherence to the word and testimony of Christ, had caused his banishment—as others “were slain—for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held,” (6:9); and whose living again and reigning with Christ, was subsequently shown John in a vision, 20:4.

John was in the spirit; i.e., he was in a state of prophetic ecstasy, in which he was, as it were, caught away from a realization of the actual and the present, and shown “the things which must be hereafter.” It was on the “Lord’s day,” the first day of the week, which was so called because on that day the Lord arose from the dead. It was a day which has been observed by all Christians in especial remembrance of that event. John does not appear to have anticipated any such announcement, until he was suddenly startled from his meditation by a voice in trumpet tones, announcing itself by the titles of Christ, and commanding him to write to the churches what he saw. Hearing the voice, he turned to see who had spoken to him, and beheld a

Vision of Christ.

“And I turned to see the voice, that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lamp-stands; and in the midst of the seven lamp-stands one like a Son of man, clothed with a garment reaching the feet, and girded around the breasts with a golden girdle. His head, even his hair, was white like white wool, like snow; and his eyes were like a flame of fire; and his feet like fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice like the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and from his mouth went forth a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as if dead. And he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and am he, who liveth, and I became dead; and behold, I am alive for ever and ever, and have the keys of death and the pit. Therefore, write the things, which thou hast seen, and the things, which are, and the things, which will take place hereafter; the secret of the seven stars, which thou hast seen in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp-stands. The seven stars, are the messengers of the seven congregations: and the seven lamp-stands are the seven congregations.”—Rev. 1:12-20.

The voice, by a metonymy, is used for the person speaking. He turned to see the glorious personage by whom the trumpet-tones were uttered. Being turned, he saw the commencement of those great panoramic presentations, by which the events of the future were revealed to him, and the significance of which were explained by an angelic interpreter.

The “seven golden candlesticks,” symbolize “the seven churches” (1:20), to which John was commanded to write. By this, and other symbols which are divinely interpreted, are unfolded the principles on which symbols are used. A candle or lamp stand, supports the light placed on it, as churches are the recipients and dispensers of the light of the Holy Scriptures. They are therefore appropriate symbols of churches.

“In the midst of the candlesticks” is one in the form of humanity, surrounded by the insignia of Deity. It is the same appearance that Ezekiel saw, when he had a vision “of the likeness of the glory of the Lord,” (Ezek. 1:26-28); and before which Daniel fell trembling, Dan. 10:5-9. The sublime spectacle was too overwhelming for John’s endurance, and, like Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, his strength turned to corruption. But the glorified Saviour was the same sympathetic being on whose breast John leaned, at the last supper, and he lays his endearing hand on John, and, by soothing words, restores his confidence. He explains the mystery contained in the symbols shown, and enjoins on him to write the things he had seen—symbolic of the things which then were, and of those which were then in the future. As no created resemblance is a fit representative of Deity, Christ is shown to John by the symbol of his own likeness.

The “seven stars” in the right hand of the Saviour, are the angels,—the messengers, or pastors of the seven churches, 1:20. As the Saviour holds the stars in his hand, so does he sustain all his gospel ministers, enabling them to impart light to those who sit under their ministrations. And as he walked in the midst of the golden candlesticks, so the Lord is ever in the midst of those who fear him, and call upon his name.

Epistles to the Seven Churches.

Epistle to the Church in Ephesus.

“To the messenger of the congregation 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 lamp-stands: I know thy works, and thy toil, and thy patience, and that thou canst not endure the evil; and thou hast tried those, who say they are apostles, and are not; and hast found them liars; and hast patience, and hast endured on account of my name, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have this against thee, that thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore whence thou hast fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I will come to thee quickly, and will remove thy lamp-stand out of its place, except thou repentest. But thou hast this, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He, who hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the congregations: To him, who overcometh, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”—Rev. 2:1-7.

The seven churches are not, themselves, seen in vision; they were symbolized by seven golden candlesticks. Consequently, these are seven literal churches that are addressed, and not allegorical, as some teach. The symbolic portions of the Apocalypse, are the descriptions of what John saw, and the attendant utterances. What was addressed to the ear by way of explanation and instruction, does not come under the laws of symbolization.

As churches, in all ages, are often in the several conditions ascribed to the seven churches, the warnings, admonitions, and consolations addressed to them, may serve for instruction to all Christians, as implied in the declaration: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches,” 2:29.