Revelation 15

Revelation 15:1

The appearance of seven angels, with seven vials, full of the seven last plagues; and the pouring out of the three first vials, with their consequent effects. Rev. XV. 1, to the end. XVI. 7.

REVELATION XV. 1.

AND I saw another great and wonderful sign in heaven, which fixed my attention, and will demand that of the reader: Seven angels, who had the seven last plagues; so called, because in them the wrath of God was to be completed; and, because they refer to some of the last judgments, which he shall pour forth on the enemies of the church, before the time of its most illustrious triumph. And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass; a great crystal vessel,

REV. XV. 1.

AND I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous; seven angels, having the seven last plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God.

And I saw as it were a sea of glass

a Sea of glass.] Some explain this in an different manner, as if there were properly a sea, seeming to lie before the ground which appeared in the vision, through which they had passed who now stood up- on the shore of it; and they suppose the glass to represent the frail nature of this world; and the fire, the mixture of calamity and misery to which they had been exposed, before they arrived at the state of

saints singing the song of Moses and the Lamb.

like the sea in Solomon’s temple ; and, it was so irradiated with the reflection of that light which fell upon it from the throne of God, that its waves seemed mingled with fire. And those who overcame the beast, and his image, and steadfastly refused, though at the expense of their possessions and lives, amidst so many who were devoted to him, to receive his mark, [and] the number of his name, I saw standing by the sea of glass, having the harps of God in their hands ; with which they were celebrating his praises, for that powerful presence and assistance which had rendered them victorious. And they sung the song of Moses, the faithful and beloved servant of God, and the song of Jesus the Lamb, who had bought them with his blood. They celebrated the triumph they had gained over the proud enemy, with a joy, like that with which Israel of old, at the Red Sea, celebrated the destruction of the haughty and cruel Egyptians, by the immediate and glorious interposition of the Divine power, saying, " Great and wonderful [are] thy works, both of judgment and of mercy, O Lord God Almighty ; nor dost thou use thine almighty power to oppress any, the meanest of thy creatures ; on the contrary, perfectly righteous and true [are] all thy ways and administrations, O King of saints, who art thyself supremely holy, as well as powerful. Who should not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy great and adorable name ? because [thou] only [art] holy ; and, in thy presence, the holiness of all other beings disappears, as un-

s in which they then interpretations have the consideration of where, of the reference temple, determined I have preferred. It is, in the origin. Dr. Clarke would insist of the beast ; that only to the true religious idolatrous and correct is Posth. Serm. Vol. and of the Lamb. ] de, upon the conversion of all nations from idolatry, they a song of congratulation to Moses a sus, whose doctrine had so direct posed it. Mede on Luke xi. 2. think this a very low interpretation. ever diligently observes the conte the song of Moses, Exod. xv will find expressions finely adapted to the one here supposed. And if it were true Maimonides tells us, that the song of was sung daily in the temple service, be considered as a beautiful illustration this circumstance, agreeable to the ral plan pursued in these visions.

The seven angels come out of the temple.

worthy to be mentioned or remembered. Surexviii. ly all nations shall come and worship before thee, in token of the humblest adoration, because thy rev. righteous judgments are already in many inxv. 4 stances made manifest, and are about to be manifested in a yet more illustrious degree."

art holy : for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

And after this I saw; and behold, the temple of the tabernacle, in which was the ark of the testimony, was opened again in heaven : the most holy place, which, since the vision I before described, had been veiled again, being

now subjected to my view. And the seven angels, who had the seven plagues already mentioned, came out of the inner apartment of the temple, as from the immediate presence of God; and like the High Priest on the day of his most sacred ministration, they were clothed with pure and shining linen [garments;] only with this difference, that whereas he had on this day only his linen girdle on, and continued in that dress till the time of the evening sacrifice, they were girded about the breasts with golden girdles.

And one of the four living creatures, which I have so often mentioned, gave to the seven angels, seven golden vials, or censers, full of the wrath of the great and blessed God, who liveth for ever and ever; and, therefore, is to be regarded as the most formidable enemy, as well as the most desirable friend, to immortal beings.

And, agreeably to that wonderful event, which happened when God first took possession of the tabernacle, and of the temple, (Exod. xl. 34; 1 Kings viii. 10; 2 Chron. v. 14; Isa. vi. 4;) the temple was full of smoke;⁴ which came from the glory of God, and from the symbol of his power. And no one could enter into the temple, till the seven plagues, which were signified by the vials of the seven angels, were finished; and, till they had emptied them by the Divine

ZVI. command. And I then heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, whom

And after that, I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened :

And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.

And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels, seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory 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.

CHAP. XVI. 1. And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the

⁴ And agreeable to that wonderful event, [sic.] Indeed it appears most surprising, and worthy of greater notice than has generally been taken of it, that the

blessed God should thus, on the consecration of the temple, possess it alone, and drive out, as it were, even the favourable tower of his majestic presence.

he three angels pour out their vials.

I have described above, Go, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God, with which you are charged, upon the earth; for his patience will no longer endure the provocations they are intended to punish.

And the first angel, in obedience to this Divine injunction, went forth, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there was a malignant and grievous ulcer, which broke out in large and dreadful scars, upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and them who worshipped his image, and they were extremely tormented with it, and found it incurable. (Compare Exod. ix. 8—10.)

And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became a mass of blood and putrefaction, like that of a dead man; and every living soul [that was] in the sea died; the fish were immediately destroyed, and the sea appeared a most gloomy and terrible spectacle. (Compare Exod. vii. 20.)

And the third angel bore a commission to spread the same terrible calamity over all the fresh waters; and, accordingly he poured forth his vial on the rivers, and on the fountains of water, and they also became blood; as the sea

• First vial.] Mr. Lowman supposes, that this third period of the vials, reveals the state of the church and providence in the times of the last head of the Roman government, represented by the beast, for 1200 years, from about A. D. 756, to its final overthrow about A. D. 2016; and he interprets each vial of some signal judgment upon the papal kingdom; supposing the five first already to be poured out, and the two others to be future. But, I must own myself not to be entirely satisfied, whether this supposition be just, (though I am rather inclined to think it is,) or whether all the following representations do not refer to events yet future, and describe the supernatural plagues to be inflicted on the papal kingdom, in its last days. Mr Pyle interprets the first vial, of the abandoned degeneracy of the popish clergy. Mr. Lowman, with greater probability, refers it to the great commotions in the whole empire, under the family of Charles the Great; by which that family became extinct, and the em-

pire and the crown of France, were transferred to other families: A. D. 830, to A. D. 988. And he shews by what intrigues the popes endeavoured to weaken and diminish the imperial power, and serve their own ambitious designs; which proved a painful sore, and were the cause of innumerable mischiefs to Europe, and especially to Italy. During this period, the Normans invaded and plundered France, the Saracens ravaged Italy, and the Hungarians the western parts of Germany and Italy.

• Second vial.] Mr. Pyle, and Mr. Lowman, agree in referring this to the great effusion of blood in the holy wars, to recover Jerusalem from the Saracens. This romantic project was set on foot by the pope, pursued by the emperor, the king of France, our king Richard, and other princes, and many prelates; and about two millions lost their lives in the several expeditions; from A. D. 1040, to A. D. 1190. And this appears to me a very probable interpretation.

Another angel celebrates God’s righteous ju:

had done on pouring out the vial of the former angel. And I heard the angel of the waters,⁵ who seemed to be appointed to have the care of them, instead of repining at what was done, adoring the hand of God in it, and saying, Most righteous art thou, O Lord, who art, and who wast, the same immutable and everlasting Jehovah; and [thou art] holy,⁶ because thou hast judged these, and executed such awful vengeance upon them. Justly dost thou make these persecuting and wicked countries the scene of such desolating judgments; because they have poured forth the blood of thy saints, and even of thy prophets, like water; and it hath flowed in a crimson stream, till their rivers have been dyed with it. And, accordingly, thou madest them read their crime in their punishment, and hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy of it; worthy to find such horrors as these, whenever they look for refreshment and comfort. And I heard another angel, whose voice seemed to come from the altar, saying, Yea, O Lord God Almighty, it is indeed thus; true and righteous [are] all thy judgments. Heaven adores the equity of thy proceeding; and the most impious inhabitants of earth, or hell, shall not be able to find any thing to object against them, even when they have the appearance of the greatest severity.⁷

⁵ Angel of the waters.] From this text, compared with chap. xiv. 18, some have inferred, that there are certain intellectual beings which preside over the several elements of water and fire; and, by consequence, of earth and air.

⁶ Thou art holy.] I follow those copies, which read it, &c. &c., whereas others have it, &c., as in other places of this book.

⁷ Third vial.] Some interpret this of the persecution of the church of Bohemia. (See Mr. P. in loc.) But this by no means suits the act of adoration, ver. 5, 6. It seems to refer to calamities to be brought on some parts of the papal kingdom. According to the order of time, Mr. Lowman supposes this to refer to the bloody wars between the Guelphs and Gibellines, or the papal and imperial factions whereby the popes were driven out of

Italy into France; from A. D. 1200, to A. D. 1571. During this period, both these parties had joined in many persecutions, and a violent one raged against the Albigenses; the inquisition was begun about A. D. 1216; and the council of Lateran established these severe and cruel methods of supporting the papacy. And God gave them also blood to drink, (ver. 6,) for a violent contest arose between the papal and imperial parties, about the right of presenting to ecclesiastical preferments, so that almost all the cities in Italy were engaged in civil wars, and great multitudes destroyed. In A. D. 1282, all the French in Sicily were massacred. Thus were they, who shed the blood of the saints, punished by civil contentions and bloodshed. And, on the whole, this seems to be the most probable and satisfactory interpretation.

Reflections on the happy condition of the saints.

IMPROVEMENT.

LET us now raise our eyes and our hearts above the low and sordid scenes of mortality, to those happy and exalted spirits who are described as standing before the crystal sea, with golden harps in their hands. Let us attentively hearken to those broken and imperfect echoes of the song of Moses, and of the Lamb, which a gracious God causes to descend, as it were, to this world of ours, and which sometimes sweetly mingle themselves, with the clamour of strife, with the din of folly, with the groans of misery. Happy and glorious is their condition now, who are freed from all these evils, and who triumph over all their enemies; whom, as it was said to Israel of the Egyptians, having beheld, they shall see them no more for ever: (Exod. xiv. 13.) They are now acknowledging their great Deliverer, singing everlasting praises to his name, and celebrating the wonders of his works, and the righteousness and truth of all his ways. Lord God Almighty, O thou King of saints, who would not fear thee, and glorify thy holy name? Let the nations come, and worship in thy presence; let them pay thee their humble reverence and homage, before the vials of thy wrath are poured out: those vials, which, terrible as their contents are, the benevolent spirits of heaven prepare themselves, at thy command, to pour forth with pleasure; applauding, in their responsive hymns, thy righteous judgments, even when the sorest and most dreadful plagues torment the worshippers of the beast and his image; even when their seas and their rivers are turned into blood. Whatever be the calamities, whether past or future, to which any of these particulars may refer, surely they are big with terror to those wretches who on any pretence, are pouring forth the blood of thy prophets and thy saints. They are worthy of having blood given them to drink, and accordingly, thou hast a dreadful draught in reserve for them. And, though some of them may have laid down their hoary heads in peace, which, we might rather have expected, would have been brought to the grave with blood, the day of thy vengeance will surely come: a vengeance so terrible, that nothing but a zeal for thy violated law, and thine injured gospel, would make the very sight of it supportable to those whose cause shall then be pleaded, and whose blood shall be visited on their tormentors and murderers.

VOL. 6.

The fourth angel pours out his vial on the