A Brief Commentary on the Apocalypse

by Sylvester Bliss

This foreshadows a period of great scarcity and cruel exactions. Applying it to the only department of society which is analogous to civil life, and the famine symbolized, is like that predicted by Amos: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine into the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it,” Amos 8:11, 12.

This, then, marks a period when the traditions and opinions of men are substituted for the word of God. With Origen was introduced a new mode of interpreting scripture, which afterwards became prevalent. The scriptures, instead of being received in their natural and obvious sense, were regarded as mystical and allegorical. Milner, in his Church History, says: “From the fanciful mode of allegory, introduced by him, and uncontrolled by scriptural rule and order, there [pg 062] arose a vitiated method of commenting on the sacred pages.” And Mosheim says: “The few who explained the sacred writings with judgment and a true spirit of criticism, could not oppose, with any success, the torrent of allegory that was overflowing the church.” Following this example, Luther says, “men make just what they please of the Scriptures, until some accommodate the word of God to the most extravagant absurdities.”

Substituting the conceptions of their own fancy for the word of God, they withheld from the people the bread of life, and produced a famine for the word of the Lord. Crude notions took the place of Bible doctrines; and pernicious speculations were substituted for the teachings of Christ and his apostles. Baptism and the Lord's supper, lost their emblematic significance, and were regarded as saving ordinances. Heaven was sought to be merited by works, and sanctification was supposed to be gained by penance and mortification of the flesh. In short, all the corruptions of the apostasy were substituted for the primitive faith, and the Bible became a sealed book to the great mass of the people.

The Fourth Seal.

“And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living being saying, Come! And I looked, and behold, a pale horse: and his name, who sat on him, [pg 063] was Death, and the pit followed with him. And power was given to them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and with the wild beasts of the earth.”—Rev. 6:7, 8.

The Christian church alone being analogous to the civil power, it is within its pale that the fulfilment of this symbol is to be looked for. During this period, violence is substituted for famine; and men are compelled to apostatize, which results in spiritual death. The Papacy having the power to enforce her decrees, Christians had to embrace her faith, or be handed over to the secular power for punishment. They produced death by compelling men to apostatize, by withholding from them the word of life, by infusing into their minds pestiferous doctrines, and by the fear of the civil power,—symbolized by the sword, famine, pestilence, and beasts of the earth.

The Fifth Seal.

“And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those slain on account of the word of God, and on account of the testimony, which they held: and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those, who dwell on the earth? And a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them, that they should rest yet for a short time, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that were to be slain as they were, should be filled up.”—Rev. 6:9-11.

This symbolized a period intervening between the time of the martyrdom, of those [pg 064] whose souls are seen in vision, and another time of persecution to follow. Consequently, the symbol represents the disembodied spirits of those who had already been slain. They symbolize the souls of martyrs who counted not their lives dear unto themselves for the sake of Christ; and being faithful unto death, were in expectation of a crown of life. Says Mr. Lord: “The term τα πτωματα is used in the prophecy to denote the dead bodies of the martyrs (chap. 11:9), and αι ψυψαι (20:4) to denote their disembodied spirits. They are represented as having been slain, and as uttering their appeal to God because of their blood having been shed.” Also: “The martyr souls are exhibited in their own persons; and obviously because no others could serve as their symbol,—there being no others that have undergone a change from a bodied to a disembodied life, nor that sustain such relations to God, of forgiveness, acceptance, and assurance of a resurrection from death, and a priesthood with Christ during his victorious reign on the earth,” Ex. Apoc. p. 155.

The altar, symbolizes the atonement made by Christ for sin; and, consequently, the position of the souls of the martyrs under it, indicates their reliance on him for an inheritance in his everlasting kingdom,—when “he shall come to be glorified in his saints,” and to “take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel,” 2 Thess. 1:8, 10.