chapter sixteen

as occurring at Har‐Magedon; the war is the same, the battle between the sinful world and the hosts of God which is ever going on through the ages to final victory in the end. Now, by a further view, the Beast, and the False Prophet (or Second Beast) who misguides the people in spiritual things, are seen to be taken, and they twain are cast alive into the lake of fire, while all their followers are slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth (v. 15); and all the birds that fly in mid‐heaven are called by an angel standing in the sun to feed upon their flesh, as in Ezekiel’s prophecy of the Judgment of Gog (ch. 39:17‐22), a judgment exceedingly repulsive to the Hebrew mind. The lake of fire is only a more fully developed form of the Jewish conception of Gehenna as a furnace of fire (Mat. 13:42, and 50). The symbolism here used may have been suggested to John’s mind by the appearance of a sea or lake during the eruption of a volcano, a view not unfamiliar to those resident in Asia.(538) This lake in the Revelation is the place of final punishment of the wicked, and is clearly distinguished from the pit of the abyss, the abode of Satan during the present world‐ period. Thus is signified the triumphant overthrow of the World‐Power and of the World‐Religion as manifested in history. These together with the World‐City are now broken and destroyed, while only the World‐Lord, or Satan, remains to carry on the conflict, and the way is thereby prepared for the great millennial victory.

This section is considered by many to refer to Christ’s second coming, the Parousia, and, if that view were established, it would serve to support the opinion of those who hold that the second advent will be premillennial; but such an interpretation is beset with many difficulties and cannot be sustained by what is said in these verses. The description does not correspond with the account of Christ’s coming again which is given in the Synoptic Gospels and the Epistles, nor with the passing foregleams of it in the preceding chapters, but rather with the delineation of Christ’s conflict with the world as it is set forth in this book, which is depicted in its beginnings under the first seal where Christ goes forth conquering and to conquer, and which is now seen to pass through the thick of battle to the crowning of victory. For while the second coming is manifestly the one great objective event ever retained in the background of the visions, overshadowing and interpenetrating every part of the Apocalypse, yet it is at no time definitely introduced or

## particularly described; and the most accurate and impartial interpretation

throughout is that which regards both the time of its occurrence and the position it occupies in relation to other events of the last days as nowhere revealed in the Apocalyptic vision. With the present author this view has grown through time from that of a possible solution of a much vexed question into a settled conviction of its correctness.(539) And it should be seen, that with this section (ch. 19:11‐21) in grave doubt, to say the least, concerning its application to the advent, if indeed it should not be regarded as entirely inapplicable, there is nothing definitely taught in the Revelation in regard to the time of Christ’s second coming; for whatever opinion we may entertain concerning the time of that glorious event so dear to the Christian heart, we cannot regard this passage as decisive in the matter unless we interpolate into it a meaning which it does not necessarily contain.

2 Satan Bound, Ch. 20:1‐3a

The temporary destruction of Satan’s power is here indicated by his being bound for a season; and this marks another advance in the triumphal march of events. An angel coming down from heaven with the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand, lays hold upon the Dragon, the Old Serpent, Satan, and binds him for a thousand years, and then shuts him up in the abyss, his present dwelling‐place, from which he can now emerge at will during the period of conflict, and seals it over him that his power may be restrained until the end of that time. The binding of Satan indicates the limiting of his authority over the nations, with the subsequent ushering in of the triumph of the gospel among men, when, according to the announcement of the seventh trumpet, “The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (ch. 11:15), a promise

## partially fulfilled at this stage, but awaiting its complete fulfilment in

the final consummation. The limiting of Satan’s power is a preparatory stage to the events that follow, and precedes the first resurrection, as it also precedes the millennium.

3 The First Resurrection, Ch. 20:4‐6

The resurrection, which is the effective redemption of the body from death, that is necessary for complete victory over sin and for the full consummation of man’s life in eternity,(540) is at this point begun,(541) and is marked in the Revelation by two successive stages, the first accompanying the triumph of the messianic kingdom, and the second preparatory to the final judgment. These two parts of the resurrection are separated in the vision by the whole millennial period. The first resurrection is special and compensative (scil. “the resurrection out of the dead”—Gr. ἐκ νεκρῶν—Phil. 3:11), consisting of certain of the saints and martyrs who by reason of their enduring resistance of the forces of evil in their lives and deaths are adjudged worthy to attain unto this resurrection, viz. “of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the Beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand.” The first resurrection which is evidently limited to this

## particular class, and is compensative in character for evils endured,

precedes the second or general resurrection by a thousand years, or the whole duration of the millennium, which is not a definite, numerical thousand years, but in accordance with the general use of numbers in the Apocalypse is a period of vast but indefinite length. The cry of the martyrs (ch. 6:9) has been heard, and they who have part in this resurrection shall live and reign with Christ throughout the whole millennial era, i. e. shall share in his presence and glory as a reward for their superior faithfulness, shall be with him where he is, evidently in heaven, for nothing is said of any new or different relation of Christ or of the saints to those who dwell upon the earth as now begun, or as entered upon at any time during this period. We are simply told that the redeemed saints shall live and reign with Christ, i. e. they shall enter upon the new and fuller life with Christ which follows the resurrection of the body, and they shall share in the triumphant rulership of Christ in heaven. The main thought in the phrase “with Christ”, it will be seen, is not so much that of location, as of association with him in messianic rule.(542) The statement here made that “they shall be priests of God and of Christ” (v. 6) evidently does not mean that they are to exercise the function of mediators for the rest of mankind during that intermediate period,—for no such service in heaven is anywhere taught in Scripture—but only that they are granted familiar access to and fellowship with God and Christ such as the priests had who drew near under the old covenant; they stand in his presence as the priests of old stood in the temple and waited and served and worshipped.

4 The Millennium, Ch. 20.: 2b, 3b, 4b, 5a, 6b and 7a

The millennium is the Latin equivalent of the Greek phrase χίλια ἔιη or a thousand years, which has now attained a permanent place in Christian thought. In the prophetic view of the apocalyptic vision this is the crowning period of the church upon earth so long looked for and foretold, the triumphant realization of messianic prophecy, the _dénouement_ of redemptive history in the world, a time of rest and victory when evil shall be restrained though not extinguished, and righteousness shall rule among men. The millennial reign of the saints with Christ, while Satan is limited in his sphere, as is indicated by his being bound with a great chain, is evidently intended to represent the period of the church’s triumph. The length of time implied by the millennium is a period of multiple completeness which is represented by a thousand, the cube of ten, the symbol of a duration that is of great but indefinite extent, covering a long period of time, stretching to untold generations, during which the rule of Christ shall be triumphantly established upon the earth.(543) The chief thought in the thousand years is doubtless that of great and enduring victory. This period, as has been effectively said, “may well be of such an indefinite length as to lead to the salvation of unnumbered multitudes—multitudes so vast and countless that all the lost of all the ages will be but an infinitesimal fraction in comparison.”(544) Such a view serves to lighten in a measure the dark places of Scripture and history with a vision of blessing and hope, though it cannot be said to disperse to any great extent that impenetrable shadow which hangs over God’s purpose in the world’s long deep night of sin and death.

No other passage in the New Testament has taken a deeper or more permanent hold upon the minds of believing men than this pregnant prophecy of a millennium, in which the thousand years is six times named in as many verses. Unfortunately interpreters have not been agreed concerning the meaning of the passage; in fact no part of the Word of God has, perhaps, been so much in dispute as these verses in the Revelation. It may be worth while, therefore, to say that in the interpretation we should clearly recognize upon the one hand that the promise of a millennium was intended to create in the minds of men a pervasive hope of ultimate divine triumph in the world; while upon the other hand we should avoid making this glorious promise the groundwork of purely human fancy. The blessings of the millennial period here set forth evidently pertain both to the saints in glory and to the kingdom of God in this world. The particular nature of the reign of the saints with Christ during the thousand years is not revealed; but we know assuredly that Christ and his kingdom have prevailed upon the earth. The millennium manifestly presents a natural and complete antithesis to the long period in which the church suffered oppression under domination of the world‐powers. The part allotted to the saints in the triumph of the kingdom in which they live and reign with Christ, is set forth in terms of long prevailing and deeply cherished Jewish ideals. To occupy “thrones of judgment” was part of the recognized hope of Israel (Ps. 122:5), and is clearly a human way of conceiving of superhuman relations. That this hope is to be realized in the final spiritual supremacy of God’s children, specially promised to the twelve of the inner circle (Mat. 19:28; and Lu. 22:30), and evidently to be shared in a

## particular degree by all those who have part in the first resurrection,

though ultimately in some measure also by all the redeemed, does not admit of serious doubt, but the exact form in which it will be realized is not made plain.

According to the usual premillennial view the first resurrection is interpreted as consisting of all believers who have died previous to that time, and not of those only who share in it by reason of special service and testimony; and the millennial reign of those who rise from their graves in this resurrection is held to be upon the earth, and is to be ushered in by the second coming of Christ who will establish a new dispensation in which he will be personally manifest, and will rule in the world, either from an earthly capital as Jerusalem, or from heaven in close communication with the saints.(545) This view, it will be seen, rests upon Jewish conceptions, and derives its support from a sternly literal interpretation of Old Testament prophecies. But, notwithstanding its natural attractiveness to the minds of men, it fails of adequate confirmation in the text. Upon the other hand most of the symbolical school interpret the first resurrection figuratively, as a resurrection to spiritual life, and regard the millennium as now in progress. The prevalence of this view seems to be largely due to the early influence of Augustine,(546) who identified the millennium with the period of the Christian church on earth, and held that for those who belong to the true church the first resurrection is past already, making it the equivalent of the resurrection to spiritual life spoken of in John’s Gospel (Jn. 5:25),—a passage which, though showing that a spiritual resurrection is a distinct Johannine conception, does not serve to break the natural force of these words in their present connection. The usual interpretation of the thousand years given by the symbolical school cannot be considered as satisfactory,(547) viz. that the phrase expresses a quality, i. e. completeness, and not a period of time; and that the meaning of the phrase “bound him for a thousand years” is that Satan was completely bound. The symbolical use of the number one thousand is evident, but that does not deprive it of all quantitative value, it only affects its literal significance; and the denial that the word “years” has any reference to time is without proper exegetical support and must be rejected.(548) According to the current symbolical interpretation the entire passage (ch. 20:1‐10) is regarded as an episode which is descriptive of the complete safety and spiritual deliverance of Christ’s people throughout the whole period of the age‐long conflict;(549) and thus the millennium as a period of triumph and blessedness for the saints on earth, preceding and distinct from the final blessedness of the world to come, fades away into a figure of speech, while the triumph of the gospel is obscured. But this view cannot be sustained except by a sacrifice of the natural, if we may not certainly say the correct exegesis; for the paragraph will not fit a purely figurative interpretation.(550) This view would dispose of the question of a pre‐ or post‐millennial coming by denying that there is any millennium, in the historic sense of the term, taught in the Revelation. But the expedient is a fallacious one, if John spoke as a prophet by the inspiration of the Spirit, for his words incorporated the thought of his time in which the millennium had a definite meaning; and that he foresaw and described it as such is fairly evident, though he manifestly modified its extravagances. The idea of a triumphal period of the Messiah’s reign is too deeply inwrought in the Apocalyptic literature which preceded the present Apocalypse to be put aside lightly as a symbol of completeness.(551) The duration of this time was a frequent and favorite subject of Jewish speculation;(552) and according to the general laws of language, the phrase used in the text, “a thousand years”, necessarily carries with it the conception of a period of time, but in accordance with the usage of the author, it loses its definite numerical significance and indicates a period of long but unmeasured duration; it becomes the symbol of a period that is complete.

It will be recognized by the attentive student of the Word of God that this passage and its connections form the _crux interpretum_ of the whole book of Revelation; and it is well, perhaps, not to speak with too much positiveness on a subject so differently understood by many of the most eminent scholars and interpreters. The view presented above seems to be the most natural meaning that can be given to the words of the vision, and seems also to accord more fully than any other with the many promises of God concerning the outcome of all that great and progressive movement among men which we call the Kingdom of Heaven in the earth. For without such a period of victory, the whole evolutionary movement in human life and history, which so manifestly marks the purpose of God and the plan of redemption, would somehow seem to fail of any proper consummation; while in this view the millennium, marking the triumph of the gospel, would vindicate the present method of history and redemption, just as the premillennial view would abandon it and introduce a different order. Indeed, it may be well here to say, what should be clearly seen by every student of the Revelation, that the premillennial view introduces practically three dispensations into the plan of redemption, viz. the first, that of Moses which measurably failed; the second, that of Christ which is also to fail of complete success; and the third, that of the Holy Spirit which shall absolutely triumph. Whether, indeed, such a view is justified by what the Gospels teach and the Epistles indicate, is a question that each interpreter of Scripture must determine for himself; though it must be said that the large majority of Christians in all ages have not so understood the message of the Word. And it would certainly be remarkable if Christ, who was so wonderful a teacher, had intended to predict a premillennial coming to his own, and yet left it in such an indefinite form that the majority of earnest Christians would forever fail to apprehend it. But, in any case, to give up the expectation of the final supremacy of the gospel in the world, whether we look for it to be attained before or after the coming of the Lord, through the method of history or contrary to it, is to empty of its richest content the Christian hope for the world of men, and to contradict the deepest longing of the pious heart.(553)

5 Satan Loosed Again and Overthrown, Ch. 20:3c, and 7‐10

A renewal of Satan’s activity is permitted by divine authority, as is indicated by his being loosed again out of his prison, and seems to be of the nature of a reaction in favor of evil, a sequence for which we are scarcely prepared at this juncture, after the millennial period of Christian ascendancy. We find described in these verses a recrudescence of organized opposition to Christ and his kingdom, indicated by Satan coming forth again out of the abyss, according to the prevailing method of the Apocalypse by which evil comes in periodic onsets. In the elucidation of the passage most interpreters, who regard the millennium as representing the triumphal period of Christ’s kingdom upon earth, consider this incident, together with Satan’s previous binding without the complete destruction of his power until the end when he is cast into the lake of fire, as showing conclusively that opposition to Christ has only been subdued during the millennial period but not extinguished, so that like a smouldering fire it bursts forth into flame again before the end.(554) It can scarcely be denied that such is the underlying assumption of the passage, as is generally conceded, though the usual symbolist view, relying upon this, minimizes the character of the millennial triumph, and regards the opposition to Christ as being subdued only so far as believers are concerned, toward whom Satan is then completely bound, the millennium and the conflict going on simultaneously—a view that is not adequately sustained by the text. On the other hand the futurist view magnifies the nature of the millennial triumph, and leaves no reasonable room for this final outburst of sin; for the millennium with Christ dwelling among his people upon earth is heaven already begun, and the Scriptures nowhere teach either the continuance of evil after Christ’s second coming, or the existence of an interval between Christ’s coming and the judgment. The interpretation here given is accepted by many modern scholars and follows a median line, regarding the millennium as a period of relative triumph followed by a fresh outbreak of sin, as seems to be indicated in this passage. If we compare these verses with that strange apocalyptic passage in Paul’s Second Epistle to the Thessalonians (II Thess. 2:3f.), we find that he there predicts a falling away from the faith and the coming of the Man of Sin before the advent, which seems to refer in the figurative language of Apocalyptic to this same period of final struggle preceding the end. And the Man of Sin there foretold may perhaps be regarded as an ideal personification of the sin of man then prevailing, “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth”. This last struggle is, however, only for a little time (v. 3), i. e. for a season that is short in comparison with the millennial period, and is apparently permitted in order to bring about the triumphal termination of the conflict that Satan may be completely and forever overthrown and flung into the lake of fire (v. 10), the final place of punishment, together with the Beast and the False Prophet whose destruction has been already described.

Though the general idea of the paragraph is relatively plain, the

## particular meaning of the prediction is involved in much obscurity, viz.

that of a war in which Satan deceives the nations of the earth, Gog and Magog,(555) whose number is as the sand of the sea, and who go up under his leadership to compass the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but who are destroyed by divine intervention through fire from heaven. The description is evidently symbolic, and Gog and Magog were doubtless not intended to be identified as particular nations; nor can the fulfilment be literally understood. Like many of the prophecies of the past it is surrounded by a haze of indefiniteness that prevents its full interpretation until its meaning is revealed by the course of events. The source of the symbolism is found in the Old Testament invasion of Gog, a passage in Ezekiel (ch. 38‐39), a prophetic scene of war, which becomes here the formal type of the last struggle between the hosts of sin and those of righteousness, and seems to refer to some new, national, and world‐wide form of opposition to Christ and his kingdom in which all the earth‐forces of evil are gathered together for their extinction—a final stage of the conflict necessary for the completeness of the victory, which is to be postmillennial, and in which all the powers of evil shall be speedily and finally overthrown.(556) It may also be that the view of battle here given is intended to be partly retrospective in its purpose, and to link this struggle with the age‐long conflict which culminates when the Beast and the False Prophet are taken, giving another view of Har‐ Magedon in which now, after a period of quiescence, Satan’s overthrow forms the final part.

6 The Second Resurrection, Ch. 20:11‐12a, and 13a

This is the final and complete resurrection which occurs at the end of the world, and comprises all those, whether believers or not, who failed to

## participate in the first resurrection. The completeness of this

resurrection is specially emphasized. Even the sea gave up the bodies of the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the souls of the dead that were in them (v. 13a), in preparation for the judgment. The description here given of the second or general resurrection, it will be seen, presents the ordinary view of Scripture, while that of the first resurrection introduces a new and different conception, viz. that of a special resurrection. The main distinction between the two resurrections may be regarded as chiefly one of order rather than time, though the precedence of the first in point of time is also included. In each case a resurrection of the body is meant, but the first is partial in extent, consisting of a particular class, while the second is universal, comprising all classes.(557) The paragraph, when thus interpreted, affords a clearer view of the resurrection as a whole, showing its proper order or sequence, and separating into two main parts that which is mostly regarded in the New Testament in its entirety as a single event occurring at the last day. In fact the doctrine of two resurrections taught in this passage, and the clearness with which the resurrection of the wicked for judgment is set forth, together constitute the most notable contribution of the Apocalypse to the eschatology of the New Testament;(558) for “whatever may be the difficulties involved, and however they may be solved, we must recognize that John here predicts an anticipative and limited resurrection of the same character as the general resurrection which is to follow.”(559) This was undoubtedly the thought presented to John’s mind in the vision, whether we attach any didactive significance to it or not, and it ought not to be overlooked in our interpretation.

At this point it may be not amiss to say, what must be apparent to every careful student of Scripture, that it was not the divine purpose in the book of Revelation to reveal the intimate nature or detail of the great events which lie at the close of man’s history on the earth; but rather to give a general outline of the divine order, which would serve to invigorate our faith and stimulate our hope in the onward path of Christian duty. And while it is for the most part fruitless to inquire

## particularly concerning that which is not clearly revealed, at the same

time the general bearing of this passage should not be allowed to escape our attention, for it is one of the most significant in the book of Revelation, and we may well pause a moment to consider its proper meaning. We have here, apparently,—if one may offer an opinion on so obscure a subject,—a hint that the resurrection which has just been described as occurring in two periods, first and second, is to be regarded as a _process_ rather than as an _event_ that is single and separate in itself, one which in its entirety covers a long period of time, and is to be accomplished in progressive stages in which the righteous share first according to their relative worth—a process which is apparently marked by two principal periods that are specially in mind in the description before us. In the light of this view it may be well to recall some of the events in the Scripture record which seem to support it. The translation of Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament, the equivalent of an immediate resurrection, which anticipated the victory of Christ over death, would otherwise be an unexplained anomaly. But according to this interpretation it forms a part of the divine order; their resurrection was not anomalous; it was only one step in the ever progressive plan of the ages. The mysterious hiding, too, of Moses’ grave in the valley of the land of Moab, finds an adequate explanation if he was subsequently translated when the divine purpose in his burial was accomplished—the burial vindicating the divine honor, while his resurrection was immediate and triumphant. The record, also, in the closing chapter of Daniel (Dan. 12:1‐3) though obscure, points to a stage in the resurrection in which not all but many shall rise, and includes as well those who rise to shame and everlasting contempt, though no indication of the time when this will occur is given by the prophet. But more particularly in Matthew’s account of the crucifixion of our Lord (Mat. 27:52‐3), we find that his death was followed not only by the rending of the veil in the temple, indicating the departure of the divine glory, but that “the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints which had fallen asleep were raised, and coming forth out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared unto many.” It is a weak exegesis that interprets their resurrection as merely spectral, or as only temporary and transient, even though it were for the purpose of witnessing to the divinity of our Lord. The natural meaning is that they arose as a part of the victory of Christ, and were ready to enter with him into the rest that remaineth for the people of God. These passages all seem to point to a progressive resurrection that is to be accomplished in successive stages, and they cannot well be otherwise interpreted except by indirection. It is true that the subject is only incidentally touched upon in the New Testament, yet it seems to be here clearly implied that precedence in resurrection is divinely accorded to those who are prepared for it, as a part of the reward of righteousness, and that this belongs to the divine order.(560) Beyond this we cannot safely go, for it is not well to be too confident in maintaining any view that depends so largely upon the interpretation of single passages, even though the inference, as in this case, seems to be natural and conclusive.

7 The Last Judgment, Ch. 20:11‐15

The final divine inquiry into the sum and fruitage of each and every life, which is retributive in its purpose, is entered into at the end of the world when all the dead, small and great, stand before God to be judged, after the resurrection is complete.(561) The great judgment throne in the vision is white, the symbol of purity, and he that sat upon it is not named, but throughout the book the judge is the Father as distinguished from the Son. The two principles of the judgment given in this graphic account, which is a reflection of the Vision of Judgment in the prophecy of Daniel (Dan. 7 and 12), are _first_ “according to their works” which are written in the books of record that are now open; and _second_ according to the divine purpose which is “written in the book of life”. The “book of life” was originally the name used for the roll of Jewish citizens kept from at least the ninth century before Christ (cf. Ezr. 2:62; Neh. 7:5, 64; and 12:22, 23) from which the names of the dead were erased, that is now applied to the Lamb’s book of life (ch. 21:27), the roll of living citizens of the New Jerusalem.(562) Those not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire together with death and Hades, both of which are now merged into this final and fitting retribution for sin, i. e. physical death as experienced by men in this world, and Hades the abode of the dead during the intermediate state, are both abolished as temporary conditions in preparation for the new heaven and the new earth of the righteous, and are succeeded by the lake of fire for the sinful. This is the last event of time, the issue of the earthly life, the End(563) foretold by prophecy, the crisis that marks the transition to eternity, the closing scene in the great drama of human history. The view now passes at once from this scene of terror and judgment to the sublime vision of joy and triumph in the far and fadeless glory beyond.

VII The Vision of the New Jerusalem (A Vision of Triumph). Ch. 21:1‐22:5

The vision of the New Jerusalem is a crowning picture of redemption consummated, a vision of triumph and peace after the conflict is over and the victory won, portraying the eternal bliss of the redeemed in the immediate presence of God, whose glory is realized in the intimate fellowship and ultimate well‐being of his creatures that have been finally recovered from sin and fully confirmed in righteousness. In this closing vision of the Revelation we reach the goal of Christian hope in the future life with God. Some future‐historical interpreters have, however, regarded this section as describing the millennial glory upon earth, preceding the final consummation of all things; but the view is involved in so many difficulties that relatively few have accepted it. On the contrary the Christian mind of all ages has instinctively found in the vision a perspective view of the heavenly glory, an opinion that it may be confidently said is not a mistaken one.(564) The New Jerusalem presents the resultant condition of victory following the long struggle against sin, “the world to come” already ushered in, which lies beyond the millennium and the resurrection. At this point it may be well to call attention to the fact that the millennium in Hebrew thought is the culmination of “the _age_ to come”, i. e. the age which is the triumphing period of the Messiah upon earth; whereas the New Jerusalem is the realization of “the _world_ to come”, i. e. of the world that is future and eternal. These ideas were quite distinct in Jewish thought, and they ought also to be distinct with us. The wonderful account of the new heaven and the new earth speaks of other conditions than those of the present time; and the view of the glorious city in this closing vision (ch. 21:2‐22:5) is aptly divisible into eight parts, the symbol of culmination, or of a new life or period begun, the division indicated in the comments that follow.

1 The New Heaven and the New Earth, Ch. 21:1

In this verse we are presented with a view of the new creation which environs the New Jerusalem, the sign of the changed and exalted conditions of future existence which await those that are Christ’s, the creation redeemed as well as the creature, “for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away”, and all things have become new.(565) This idea, which coincides with that of Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (ch. 8:19‐23), is not, however, further developed, but the view turns at once to the heavenly city, for the vision has its proper center in the city, and is designed to present a view of redeemed humanity in the presence of God to which that of the redeemed creation is merely incidental.

2 The Holy City, Ch. 21:2‐22:5

Heaven, its joys and its inhabitants, is described under the type of a city, the New Jerusalem, the counterpart of the Old whose warfare has been accomplished, a civic and social dwelling‐place that is new, holy, and glorious, an ideally perfect city in the midst of an ideally perfect world;(566) the symbol of the glorious conditions of the redeemed and purified church in the midst of the new life of eternity, and the antithesis of Babylon, the type of the old sinful and polluted world. The description is full of echoes from the Isaian rhapsody of Zion Redeemed (Isa. 54, 60, and 65), and Ezekiel’s vision of Jerusalem Restored (Ezek. 40 and 48).(567)

(1) The Tabernacle of God with Men, Ch. 21:3‐4

The city in its entirety becomes the antitype of the tabernacle of Israel, especially of the inner sanctuary or holy of holies, where God forever dwells with men, and they shall be his peoples,(568) and sorrow, pain, and death shall be no more, for the former things are passed away. This is authoritatively declared by a voice out of the throne, a divine message, possibly given by one of the Angels of the Presence, as a comforting and assuring promise of the divine nearness and guardianship in the future life of God’s people.

(2) The Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, Ch. 21:2, 9‐10

The city, the dwelling‐place of the redeemed, and the symbol of the new conditions of the glorified church in the midst of eternity, becomes now by metonymy the symbol of the redeemed church herself, the Bride of Christ, the inhabitants being thought of to the exclusion of all else. The great city, the holy Jerusalem, is seen coming down out of heaven from God,(569) as a bride adorned for her husband on her marriage day,—a figure of the intimate and tender relation of Christ with his people in the final state of the blessed. The city in these verses (9‐10) is manifestly the symbol of the church that dwells within it; but the view that makes the New Jerusalem the symbol solely of the redeemed church, not only here but throughout the entire passage,(570) fails to realize the flexibility of prophetic usage. The idea of place and local surroundings in the general description of the city undoubtedly stands first in the Apocalyptist’s thought, and would seldom be questioned by the ordinary reader, though it includes also the inhabitants as well, and may be used for the inhabitants alone, as is done in this part of the passage, without invalidating the general meaning. In the ninth verse, with the announcement of the angel, “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb”, the account in verse second is resumed, and is wrought out in detail. One of the vial‐angels carries John away in the Spirit into a mountain great and high that he may see the vision more fully, an indication of its importance.

(3) The City of New Things, Ch. 21:5‐8

All things are declared new and changed, and to be the inheritance of those that shall overcome,(571) to whom also the fulness of divine sonship is awarded; but the craven and unbelieving, the sinful and impure, shall be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. These words of authority, promise, and threatening, are spoken by him who sitteth on the throne, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who now himself, when all is fulfilled, speaks openly instead of through those mysterious voices that have hitherto issued from out the throne and temple, another token of the nearer communion of the saints with God in the new heaven and the new earth.(572) And John is again commanded to write, for the words spoken are “faithful and true”, and “they are come to pass”, i. e. all God’s promises and threatenings have been fulfilled, even the things of the new creation have already come into being, and the mystery of God is ended, according to the prediction of the angel with the book (ch. 10:7), i. e. the mystery of the divine purpose in the great work of creation and redemption has now been fully made known.

(4) The City of Glory(573), Ch. 21:11‐21

“Having the glory of God”, i. e. the glory of his abiding presence, which is reflected in the glory of gate and wall and street, yet the city is described for our better understanding in terms of the earthly creation. Its light is like unto a stone most precious, and the materials of its structure are most costly; the building of the wall is of jasper, the city and the street of pure gold, and the foundations of the wall adorned with all manner of precious stones,(574) while the several gates are each of a single pearl,—the mingled symbols of brilliancy, glory, costliness, and beauty. The city lies foursquare, a perfect figure, the distinctive number of the earthly creation still, though new, with twelve foundations, gates, and angels, the church number, reflecting the number of the tribes of Israel and of the apostles of the Lamb, and with walls one hundred and forty‐four cubits high, the square of the church number, and twelve thousand furlongs in length on each of the four sides,(575) the church number multiplied by a thousand, and the number of the sealed in each tribe (ch. 7:5f.),—pertinent symbols, all of these, of the perfect home of the redeemed, as well as of the symmetry of the perfect church. The city is further described as a perfect cube like the holy of holies in the sanctuary, the length and breadth and the height of it being equal (v. 16) which perhaps means that in the height is included the eminence on which it stands, though others think that there is an intentional absence of all verisimilitude.(576) The symbolical meaning of the cubical dimensions is evidently that of a symmetrical and ideal perfection which is proportional in all its parts, and like to the holy of holies in the earthly temple.(577) The circuit of the walls is forty‐eight thousand stadia, i. e. four times twelve thousand furlongs or stadia, and seems to be a designed reference to the city of Babylon, the greatest city of the ancient world, the circuit of which was four hundred and eighty stadia, i. e. four times one hundred and twenty furlongs or stadia, while that of the New Jerusalem is greater a hundredfold, which is evidently the language of symbolism.(578) The city which is first seen from afar, coming down out of heaven (v. 11‐14), is afterward measured, and its glories pointed out by the angel (see the divisions indicated by paragraphs in the text of the Revelation given in the first part of the volume).

(5) The City of Many Nations, Ch. 21:24, and 26

The nations walk amidst the light thereof, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it, a description which seems to reflect the thought of a new earth that will be peopled as well as the holy city, as implied in the first verse of the chapter, and perhaps designed to show the cosmopolitan character of the New Jerusalem.

(6) The City of Exclusions, Ch. 21:1, 4, 22, 23, 25, 27; and 22:3, 5

The city has no more sea, i. e. the old, earthly, turbulent sea of conflict and unrest (v. 1); no more death, neither mourning, crying, nor pain any more (v. 4); no separate temple or inner sanctuary of partial access to God, for the city is all temple, and God forever dwells among his people (v. 22); no sun, nor moon, nor night, for the Lamb is the light thereof, his spiritual light superseding the physical (v. 23, 25, and ch. 22:5); no shut gates of defence or hindrance, for there is no longer either night or enemy abroad (v. 25); and no more curse, nor any unholy to renew the conflict, nor anything unclean or that maketh an abomination and a lie, for Christ is throned as victor (v. 27, and ch. 22:3). In this final view of heaven not only has the temple disappeared, but also the elders, and the four living creatures, and all that accessory symbolism of the earlier visions which was appropriate to the church‐historic period. These are no longer needed, for the conditions which they served to symbolize have passed away. Even the angels are no longer seen within, for this is a vision of redeemed men who look upon the face of their Redeemer.

(7) The City of Life, Ch. 22:1‐2

As the antidote of death the eternal city is seen to possess a “river of water of life” that flows out from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of the street thereof, the source of enduring life to all the holy (Ps. 46:4‐5). The city is, also, seen to have the “tree of life”,(579) the seal of God’s first covenant in Eden (Gen. 2:9; 3:22), bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month, and with leaves for the healing of the nations, which has at last wrought its beneficent results and forever removed the curse. The word tree is in the singular, but the context shows that it is to be understood generically, i. e. a tree of life which is found on this side of the river and on that, or trees of life growing by the river‐side.(580) We notice, also, that the river, which in the earthly Paradise was parted and became four heads when traced to its source, is now replaced by a single river of water of life in the heavenly; and the Scripture story of man, viewed from its beginning to its close, is seen to finally lead up from the lost Paradise of creation to the Paradise regained by redemption. And in that city forever dwell only those “that are written in the Lamb’s book of life”.

(8) The City of God, Ch. 22:3‐5

The crowning glory of the holy city is the abiding presence of Jehovah, for the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein, and the redeemed shall see his face(581) in the beatific vision, and his name shall be upon their foreheads, and they shall reign for ever and ever. Then and there man redeemed, who has so long been separated from the face of God by the ruinous results of sin, shall be at last restored to the fulness of the divine presence to abide throughout eternity.(582) Whether, indeed, God in his essential being can ever be directly apprehended by the finite spirit, is a question that with our present light we cannot definitely determine. It may well be in eternity as in time, there as well as here, that for us to see the Son is to see the Father, and that the beatific vision for which men have so often longed and hoped and prayed in the past, is to be realized in a way quite different from the common thought, by the blessed vision of the glorified and exalted Christ in the fadeless life of the perfected kingdom of God in heaven. The name which shall be upon the foreheads of the redeemed is evidently the “new name” of