Having thus gone through the principal part of the subject, and having shown that the common interpretation, against which so many and serious objections lie, cannot be the true meaning; I proceed, as a necessary conclusion, to notice briefly the spiritual meaning of the prophetic symbols used in the passages that we have noticed, and their connexion with each other. That the whole of these passages relate to the Christian church, we have already stated; and that they are of importance to us, may be fairly inferred from their being found in the Sacred Volume. It is, therefore, scarcely possible to conceive that even learned and pious men have been able to perceive nothing within them but earthly concerns,—mere temporal events; the destruction of Jerusalem; the conversion (whether real or pretended) of Constantine; wars in Italy; the irruption of the Goths; and the famine of the Antonines; as if these events were either able, or likely, to give that saving wisdom which it is the object of God by his Word to bestow. Everything in the Sacred Volume is intended to contribute to our salvation; but transactions like these do not tend to make us wiser or better. It is to the Christian church, and to its principles and practice, therefore, that these descriptions refer; and as they relate to the general body, they apply to every individual of which that body is composed, and thus demand our most serious attention.
The principal symbol used in these prophecies is, "the sun;" and this is said to "become black," and to be "turned into darkness." Our first inquiry, therefore, is, what principle in the spiritual world of Christianity, corresponds with this luminary in the world of matter. And in this inquiry we shall be aided, if we consider the functions it performs. The sun is the source of all natural heat and splendor; and without his influence, the worlds in the solar system, now glowing in light and beauty, would be dead and unattractive masses of matter. He is the cause of all vegetable and animal life: deprived of his beams, vegetation would decay, and the animal kingdom sink in death. He is the principal agent in the production of sight; the eye without him, would be a useless organ. In a word, if we were called upon to name the most important agent in the material world, our thoughts would turn at once to the sun. Now, in the spiritual world, including both the church of God and the individual spirit of man, what is that which produces the same effects as the natural sun does in the system of matter? What is the source of love and wisdom, spiritual heat and spiritual light?—What is it that produces in the mind those fruits of righteousness which are the characteristics of true religion? What gives to reason (the eye of the mind) its power of discerning spiritual things? and invests the soul, naturally dark and lifeless, with spiritual life and glory? It is Divine Love that does this. This is the Sun of the spiritual universe,—the Fountain of all heavenly light and life,—the Cause of every good word and work. And in giving this meaning to the natural image, we are supported throughout by the Sacred Scripture. The Lord is called "the Sun," and, "the Sun of Righteousness." He is said to rise upon the mind, when the spirit turns itself toward Him; and to turn away from man, when he departs from his Maker. In the same manner, whenever the prophets or apostles were favored with a visible representation of the Divine Majesty, they describe the face of God as shining like the sun. Now the face of God is his Love. Hence the Psalmist says, "Lift upon us the light of thy countenance, and cause thy face to shine upon us." And this love of God is described as the sun, rising, shining, and giving light. Thus, too, in the visions of John, when the apostle beheld an image of the pure church of Christ, he describes her as "a woman clothed with the sun;" or encompassed on every side by the Divine Love. By the sun, then, in the internal sense of prophecy, we understand the infinite and unbounded love of the Almighty, which alone is the cause of life and light; and which gives strength, support, and beauty, to the spiritual system of man.
Having obtained the meaning of this principal symbol, we shall be at no loss to determine that of the other. "The moon," as regards apparent splendor, is the second great luminary in the visible heavens. In herself, however, she is a dark body, and possesses no power of communicating light except by the reflection of the sun's beams. In this case, therefore, we have to seek a second principle in the heaven of the church, corresponding with this second light in the heaven of matter; a principle which, though it enlightens and cheers the soul, has no brightness in itself; but derives all its usefulness and beauty from a conjunction with LOVE. And this principle we find in FAITH; that faith which springs from charity. As the moon derives all her light from the sun, so does true faith draw all its glory from love. As the moon separated from the sun's influence, is dark and lifeless, so is faith without love, dead and useless. And as the light proceeding from the moon is but the rays of the sun reflected from her surface, so is the faith that springs from a modification of the love of God, a reflection of his infinite benevolence.
And here, again, the apostle confirms this idea. While he represents the church of God as being clothed with the Sun, he also describes her as standing upon the moon, or having "the moon under her feet:"—pointing out the love with which she is continually encompassed, and the faith upon which she is securely founded. Thus Paul, speaking of the universal church of Christ, declares that it is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets:"—that is, upon their doctrines, and upon the truth which they made known; "Jesus Christ Himself," as the Truth Itself, being "the chief corner stone." Eph. ii. 20. With this, too, agrees the sublime prophecy of Isaiah. When speaking of the church restored to its full perfection and glory, he says, "Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw herself; for Jehovah shall be thine Everlasting Light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." ix. 20. That is: Thy love shall no more depart, neither shall thy faith and charity decay; for God shall dwell in every soul by his love, and his beams shall be reflected from every bosom.
We might go through the whole of those predictions which relate to this subject; and in all cases we should find that this interpretation of the figures not only makes a complete and consistent sense, but that the passages so interpreted would stand in the most complete agreement with the general tenor of the Scriptures, and with the hopes of the best and wisest among men.
The third symbolic figure is, "the stars:" and these, as regards the quantity of light transmitted to the earth, are secondary luminaries in the visible system. They shine not with any borrowed radiance, but with their own native splendor. And here, again, we must repeat the inquiry, what are those luminaries in the mental heaven, which hold a secondary place in the concern of salvation, to love and faith; yet shine, not with reflected light, but with the real brightness of the Divine Glory? The answer is easy: They are the doctrines of religion or the knowledges of truth;—those portions of the eternal reason, which the manifested Truth has Himself revealed. But some may be ready to observe, that these are already included in the Faith of which I have just spoken. A single remark, however, will obviate this objection. That FAITH and the knowledge of truth generally go together, is certainly true,—even as the moon and stars shine at the same time. But to know the truth is one thing, and to have faith in God is another and widely different thing; as different as the light of the stars is from that of the moon. And as the stars frequently shine when the moon is not seen, so does the knowledge of truth frequently exist in the mind when true faith has no existence. I am, therefore, consistent in declaring that the light of the stars,—the knowledge of doctrines, though a valuable acquisition, is secondary in importance both to Christian faith and to Divine Love. Yet the doctrines or truths which are the objects of this knowledge, are not derived from any source lower than divinity itself; they are, as just observed, portions of eternal wisdom designed for the guidance of the church of God; and derived from the "Father of lights," from whom proceeds "every good and every perfect gift."
In thus mentioning doctrines, (or the term which I have used as synonymous, truths, for pure doctrines are but truths embodied) I by no means refer to the tenets of a sect or party, but to the eternal wisdom of the Almighty, as revealed in his word: and with respect to this, the parallel between it and the natural image may be carried through all its parts. As the stars are of the same nature with the sun, and like him shine with their native and proper light, so is the wisdom of God of the same nature with his love; both being essential attributes of Divinity. As the stars, however, though in themselves splendid bodies, communicate no heat to the earth, and are but of secondary importance in comparison with the sun and moon, so does the mere knowledge of truths, (although the truths in themselves possess the nature of divinity,) leave the soul as cold and lifeless as before; and is of far less importance in the spiritual system than the love of God, or faith, its reflection on the soul. Carry the comparison as far as we may, still the stars of the natural heaven correspond exactly to the truths of the church; and the light which they emit, to the knowledge of that truth.
And this interpretation of the symbol agrees, too, with the vision of the apostle. The church clothed with the Sun of love, and standing upon faith; the symbolic moon had upon her head (the seat of intelligence and wisdom) a crown of twelve stars;—denoting the knowledges of pure truth which should ornament that church in her last state of peace and holiness. So the great red dragon, who is described as fighting with Michael and his angels, is said to have drawn the third part of the stars from heaven;—pointing out the almost total extinction of real truth in the corrupted Christian churches. We might again trace this meaning in every passage where the natural image occurs, and we should still find that the sense it gives to each of them is consistent both with the Word of God, as referring to the great concern of salvation, and with the connexion in which the passages are found.
In these symbolic representations we, therefore, perceive the three sources of light in the Christian heaven, love, faith, and knowledge. The first being the diffused affection of the Father of spirits; the second, its reflection in the soul of man; the third, the truths of doctrine which enliven and ornament the church, proceeding immediately from the Source of all Wisdom. The glory of each is the same in substance, as the light of the sun, moon, and stars, is the same in nature; but it differs in degree, as the luminary whence it springs is of more or less importance to the eternal happiness of man. Knowledge is the least important; of itself merely, it produces nothing. Faith rises above knowledge; yet even faith by itself is useless. Love is the chief; this quickens, animates, and renders fruitful, the church of God, and the soul of each individual member.
I press this interpretation on no one; yet I may say, without breaking the bounds of Christian liberty, that it carries probability on its very face. The parallel between the natural image and its spiritual correspondent, is complete throughout; but this can by no means be said of the various constructions which have generally been put upon them. The sun, it is said, is the civil government of a state; and the moon, its ecclesiastical policy. But in vain shall we attempt to draw a comparison here between the natural figure and the object said to be signified by it. The civil government of an empire is not the source of all wisdom, love, and prosperity, as the sun is of heat, light, and fruitfulness. It does not give to the ecclesiastical all its power, glory, and beauty, as the sun does to the moon; nor would the church become dead and lifeless if separated from the state, as the moon would if severed from the sun. The pastors of the church, which it is affirmed are the stars, do not, like the stars, shine with their own native splendor. The comparison, therefore, does not in any degree hold good: while in the meaning we have given above, consistency both with Scripture and reason, as well as with the best interests of man, is preserved throughout.