IV. The resurrection of the witnesses, ver. 11. Little need be added on this point, after what has been said on the previous portions of the chapter. We have seen (Notes on [ver. 11]) that this must mean that a state of things would occur which would be well represented by their being restored to life again; and if the previous illustrations are correct, there will be little difficulty in admitting that this had its fulfilment in the commencement of the Reformation. As to the time when they would revive, we have seen above how remarkably this accords with the commencement of the Reformation in 1517; and as to the correspondence of this with what is here symbolized, nothing would better represent this than to describe the witnesses as coming to life again. It was as if “the Spirit of life from God entered into” those who had been slain,and “they stood upon their feet” again, and again bore their solemn testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus. For (a) it was the same kind of testimony—testimony to the same truths, and against the same evils—which had been borne by the long array of the confessors and martyrs that had been put to death. The truths proclaimed by the Reformers on the great doctrines of grace were the same which had been professed by the Waldenses, by Wycliffe, by John Huss, and others; and the abominations of image-worship, of the invocations of the saints, of the arrogant claims of the pope, of the doctrine of human merit in justification, of the corruptions of the monastic systems, of the celibacy of the clergy, of the doctrine of purgatory, against which they testified, were the same. (b) That testimony was borne by men of the same spirit and character. In what would now be called personal religious experience there was the closest resemblance between the Waldenses and the other “witnesses” before the Reformation, and the Reformers themselves—between the piety of Huss, Jerome of Prague, Wycliffe, and Peter Waldo; and Luther, Melancthon, Zuingle, Calvin, Bucer, Latimer, Ridley, and Knox. They were men who belonged to the same spiritual communion, and who had been moulded and fashioned in their spiritual character by the same power from on high. (c) The testimony was borne with the same fearlessness, and in the midst of the same kind of persecution and opposition. All that occurred was as if the same “witnesses” had been restored to life and again lifted up their voice in the cause for which they had been persecuted and slain. The propriety of this language, as applied to these events, may be further seen from expressions used by the “witnesses” themselves, or by the persecuted friends of the truth. “And I,” said John Huss, speaking of the gospel-preachers who should appear after he had suffered at the stake, “and I, awaking as it were from the dead, and rising from the grave, shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.” Again, in 1523, after the Reformation had broken out, we find Pope Hadrian saying, in a missive addressed to the Diet at Nuremberg, “The heretics Huss and Jerome are now alive again in the person of Martin Luther” (The Seventh Vial, p. 190).
V. The ascension of the witnesses, ver. 12: “And they ascended to heaven in a cloud.” We have seen ([Notes] on this verse) that this means that events would take place as if they should ascend in triumph to heaven, or which should be properly symbolized by such an ascent to heaven. All that is here represented would be fulfilled by a triumph of the truth under the testimony of the witnesses, or by its becoming gloriously established in view of the nations of the earth, as if the witnesses ascended publicly and were received to the presence of God in heaven. All this was fulfilled in the various influences that served to establish and confirm the Reformation, and to introduce the great principles of religious freedom, giving to that work ultimate triumph, and showing that it had the favour of God. This would embrace the whole series of events after the Reformation was begun, by which its triumph was secure, or by which that state of things was gradually introduced which now exists, in which the true religion is free from persecution, in which it is advancing into so many parts of the world where the Papacy once had the control, and in which, with so little molestation, and with such an onward march toward ultimate victory, it is extending its conquests over the earth. The triumphant ascent of the witnesses to heaven, and the public proof of the divine favour thus shown to them, would be an appropriate symbol of this.
VI. The consequences of the resurrection, ascension, and triumph of the witnesses, ver. 13. These are said to be, that there would be “in the same hour a great earthquake; that a tenth part of the city would fall; that seven thousand would be slain, and that the remainder would be affrighted and would give glory to the God of heaven.”
(a) The earthquake. This, as we have seen (Notes on [ver. 13]), denotes that there would be a shock or a convulsion in the world, so that the powers of the earth would be shaken, as cities, trees, and hills are in the shocks of an earthquake. There can be little difficulty in applying this to the shock produced throughout Europe by the boldness of Luther and his fellow-labourers in the Reformation. No events have ever taken place in history that would be better compared with the shock of an earthquake than those which occurred when the long-established governments of Europe, and especially thedomination of the Papacy, so long consolidated and confirmed, were shaken by the Reformation. In the suddenness of the attack made on the existing state of things, in the commotions which were produced, in the overthrow of so many governments, there was a striking resemblance to the convulsions caused by an earthquake. So Dr. Lingard speaks of the Reformation: “That religious revolution which astonished and convulsed the nations of Europe.” Nothing would better represent the convulsions caused in Germany, Switzerland, Prussia, Saxony, Sweden, Denmark, and England by the Reformation than an earthquake.
(b) The fate of a part of the city: “And the tenth part of the city fell.” That is, as we have seen (Notes on [ver. 13]), of that which is represented by the city, to wit, the Roman power. The fall of a “tenth part” would denote the fall of a considerable portion of that power; as if, in an earthquake, a tenth part of a city should be demolished. This would well represent what occurred in the Reformation, when so considerable a portion of the colossal Papal power suddenly fell away, and the immediate effect on the portions of Europe where the Reformation prevailed, as compared with the whole of that power, might well be represented by the fall of the tenth part of a city. It is true that a much larger proportion ultimately fell off from Rome, so that now the number of Romanists and Protestants is not far from being equal; but in the first convulsion—in what passed before the eye in vision as represented by the earthquake—that proportion would not be improperly represented by the tenth part of a city. The idea is, that the sudden destruction of a tenth part of a great city by an earthquake would well represent the convulsion at the breaking out of the Reformation, by which a considerable portion of the Papal power would fall.
(c) Those who were slain, ver. 13: “And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.” That is, as we have seen (Notes on [ver. 13]), a calamity would occur to this vast Papal power, as if this number should be killed in the earthquake, or which would be well represented by that. In other words, a portion of those who were represented by the city would be slain, which, compared with the whole number, would bear about the same proportion which seven thousand would to the usual dwellers in such a city. As the numbers in the city are not mentioned, it is impossible to form any exact estimate of the numbers that would be slain on this supposition. But if we suppose that the city contained a hundred thousand, then the proportion would be something like a fourteenth part; but if it were half a million, then it would be about a seventieth part; if it were a million, then it would be about a hundred and forty-fifth part; and, as we may suppose that John, in these visions, had his eye on Rome as it was in the age in which he lived, we may, if we can ascertain what the size of Rome was at that period, take that estimate as the basis of the interpretation. Mr. Gibbon (ii. 251, 252) has endeavoured to form an estimate of the probable number of the inhabitants of ancient Rome; and, after enumerating all the circumstances which throw any light on the subject, says: “If we adopt the same average which, under similar circumstances, has been found applicable to Paris, and indifferently allow about twenty-five persons for each house, of every degree, we may fairly estimate the inhabitants of Rome at twelve hundred thousand.” Allowing this to be the number of the inhabitants of the city, then the number here specified that was slain—seven thousand—would be about the one hundred and seventieth part, or one in one hundred and seventy. This would, according to the purport of the vision here, represent the number that would perish in the convulsion denoted by the earthquake—a number which, though it would be large in the aggregate, is not probably too large in fact as referring to the number of persons that perished in Papal Europe in the wars that were consequent on the Reformation.
(d) The only other circumstance in this representation is, that “the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven,” ver. 13. That is, as we have seen (Notes on [ver. 13]), fear and consternation came upon them, and they stood in awe at what was occurring, and acknowledged the power of God in the changes that took place. How well this was fulfilled in what occurred in the Reformation, it is hardly necessary to state. The events which then took place had every mark of being under the divine hand, and were such as to fill the minds of men with awe and to teach them to recognize the hand of God. The power which tore asunder that immense ecclesiastical establishment, thathad so long held the whole of Europe in servitude; which dissolved the charm which had so long held kings, and princes, and people spell-bound; which rent away for ever so large a portion of the Papal dominions; which led kings to separate themselves from the control to which they had been so long subjected, and which emancipated the human mind, and diffused abroad the great principles of civil and religious liberty, was well adapted to fill the mind with awe, and to lead men to recognize the hand and the agency of God; and if it be admitted that the Holy Spirit in this passage meant to refer to these events, it cannot be doubted that the language here used is such as is well adapted to describe the effects produced on the minds of men at large.
15 And the [359]seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, [360]The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and [361]he shall reign for ever and ever.
15. And the seventh angel sounded. See Notes on [ch. viii. 2], [6], [7]. This is the last of the trumpets, implying, of course, that under this the series of visions was to end, and that this was to introduce the state of things under which the affairs of the world were to be wound up. The place which this occupies in the order of time, is when the events pertaining to the colossal Roman power—the fourth kingdom of Daniel (Da. ii.–vii.)—should have been completed, and when the reign of the saints (Da. vii. 9–14, 27, 28) should have been introduced. This, both in Daniel and in John, is to occur when the mighty power of the Papacy shall have been overthrown at the termination of the twelve hundred and sixty years of its duration. See Notes on Da. vii. 25. In both Daniel and John the termination of that persecuting power is the commencement of the reign of the saints; the downfall of the Papacy, the introduction of the kingdom of God, and its establishment on the earth. ¶ And there were great voices in heaven. As of exultation and praise. The grand consummation had come, the period so long anticipated and desired when God should reign on the earth had arrived, and this lays the foundation for joy and thanksgiving in heaven. ¶ The kingdoms of this world. The modern editions of the New Testament (see Tittmann and Hahn) read this in the singular number—“The kingdom of this world has become,” &c. According to this reading, the meaning would be, either that the sole reign over this world had become that of the Lord Jesus; or, more probably, that the dominion over the earth had been regarded as one in the sense that Satan had reigned over it, but had now become the kingdom of God; that is, that “the kingdoms of this world are many considered in themselves; but in reference to the sway of Satan, there is only one kingdom ruled over by the ‘god of this world’” (Professor Stuart). The sense is not materially different whichever reading is adopted; though the authority is in favour of the latter (Wetstein). According to the common reading, the sense is, that all the kingdoms of the earth, being many in themselves, had been now brought under the one sceptre of Christ; according to the other, the whole world was regarded as in fact one kingdom—that of Satan—and the sceptre had now passed from his hands into those of the Saviour. ¶ The kingdoms of our Lord. Or, the kingdom of our Lord, according to the reading adopted in the previous part of the verse. The word Lord here evidently has reference to God as such—represented as the original source of authority, and as giving the kingdom to his Son. See Notes on Da. vii. 13, 14; comp. Ps. ii. 8. The word Lord—Κύριος—implies the notion of possessor, owner, sovereign, supreme ruler—and is thus properly given to God. See Mat. i. 22; v. 33; Mar. v. 19; Lu. i. 6, 28; Ac. vii. 33; He. viii. 2, 10; Ja. iv. 15, al. sæpe ¶ And of his Christ. Of his anointed; of him who is set apart as the Messiah, and consecrated to this high office. See Notes on Mat. i. 1. He is called “his Christ,” because he is set apart by him, or appointed by him to perform the work appropriate to that office on earth. Such language as that which occurs here is often employed, in which God and Christ are spoken of as, in some respects, distinct—as sustaining different offices, and performing different works. The essential meaning here is, that the kingdom of this world had now become the kingdom of God underChrist; that is, that that kingdom is administered by the Son of God. ¶ And he shall reign for ever and ever. A kingdom is commenced which shall never terminate. It is not said that this would be on the earth; but the essential idea is, that the sceptre of the world had now, after so long a time, come into his hands never more to pass away. The fuller characteristics of this reign are stated in a subsequent part of this book (ch. xx.–xxii.). What is here stated is in accordance with all the predictions in the Bible. A time is to come when, in the proper sense of the term, God is to reign on the earth; when his kingdom is to be universal; when his laws shall be everywhere recognized as binding; when all idolatry shall come to an end; and when the understandings and the hearts of men everywhere shall bow to his authority. Comp. Ps. ii. 8; Is. ix. 7; xi. 9; xlv. 22; lx.; Da. ii. 35, 44, 45; vii. 13, 14, 27, 28; Zec. xiv. 9; Mal. i. 11; Lu. i. 33. On this whole subject, see the very ample illustrations and proofs in the Notes on Da. ii. 44, 45; vii. 13, 14, 27, 28; comp. Notes on chap. xx.–xxii.
16 And the [362]four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God.