mh_parser/vol_split/66 - Revelation/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Rev.ii" n="ii" next="Rev.iii" prev="Rev.i" progress="94.30%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Rev.ii-p0.1">R E V E L A T I O N.</h2>
<h3 id="Rev.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Rev.ii-p1">This chapter is a general preface to the whole
book, and contains, I. An inscription, declaring the original and
the design of it, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.1-Rev.1.2" parsed="|Rev|1|1|1|2" passage="Re 1:1,2">ver. 1,
2</scripRef>. II. The apostolic benediction pronounced on all those
who shall pay a due regard to the contents of this book, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.3-Rev.1.8" parsed="|Rev|1|3|1|8" passage="Re 1:3-8">ver. 3-8</scripRef>. III. A glorious vision or
appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to the apostle John, when he
delivered to him this revelation, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.9-Rev.1.20" parsed="|Rev|1|9|1|20" passage="Re 1:9-20">ver. 9, to the end</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Rev.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1" parsed="|Rev|1|0|0|0" passage="Re 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Rev.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.1-Rev.1.2" parsed="|Rev|1|1|1|2" passage="Re 1:1-2" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.1.1-Rev.1.2">
<h4 id="Rev.ii-p1.6">The Substance of the Book. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.ii-p1.7">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.ii-p2">1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave
unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come
to pass; and he sent and signified <i>it</i> by his angel unto his
servant John:   2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of
the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p3">Here we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p4">I. What we may call the pedigree of this
book. 1. It is <i>the revelation of Jesus Christ.</i> The whole
Bible is so; for all revelation comes through Christ and all
centres in him; and especially <i>in these last days God has spoken
to us by his Son,</i> and concerning his Son. Christ, as the king
of his church, has been pleased thus far to let his church know by
what rules and methods he will proceed in his government; and, as
the prophet of the church, he has made known to us the things that
shall be hereafter. 2. It is a revelation <i>which God gave unto
Christ.</i> Though Christ is himself God, and as such has light and
life in himself, yet, as he sustains the office of <i>Mediator
between God and man,</i> he receives his instructions from the
Father. The human nature of Christ, though endowed with the
greatest sagacity, judgment, and penetration, could not, in a way
of reason, discover these great events, which not being produced by
natural causes, but wholly depending upon the will of God, could be
the object only of divine prescience, and must come to a created
mind only by revelation. Our Lord Jesus is the great trustee of
divine revelation; it is to him that we owe the knowledge we have
of what we are to expect from God and what he expects from us. 3.
This revelation Christ <i>sent and signified by his angel.</i>
Observe here the admirable order of divine revelation. God gave it
to Christ, and Christ employed an angel to communicate it to the
churches. The angels are God's messengers; they are ministering
spirits to the heirs of salvation. They are Christ's servants:
principalities and powers are subject to him; all the angels of God
are obliged to worship him. 4. The angels <i>signified it to the
apostle John.</i> As the angels are the messengers of Christ, the
ministers are the messengers of the churches; what they receive
from heaven, they are to communicate to the churches. John was the
apostle chosen for this service. Some think he was the only one
surviving, the rest having sealed their testimony with their blood.
This was to be the last book of divine revelation; and therefore
notified to the church by the last of the apostles. John was the
beloved disciple. He was, under the New Testament, as the prophet
Daniel under the Old, <i>a man greatly beloved.</i> He was the
servant of Christ; he was an apostle, an evangelist, and a prophet;
he served Christ in all the three extraordinary offices of the
church. James was an apostle, but not a prophet, nor an evangelist;
Matthew was an apostle and evangelist, but not a prophet; Luke was
an evangelist, but neither a prophet nor an apostle; but John was
all three; and so Christ calls him in an eminent sense his
<i>servant John.</i> 5. John was to deliver this revelation to the
church, to all his servants. For the revelation was not designed
for the use of Christ's extraordinary servants the ministers only,
but for all his servants, the members of the church; they have all
a right to the oracles of God, and all have their concern in
them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p5">II. Here we have the subject-matter of this
revelation, namely, the things that must shortly come to pass. The
evangelists give us an account of the things that are past;
prophecy gives us an account of things to come. These future events
are shown, not in the clearest light in which God could have set
them, but in such a light as he saw most proper, and which would
best answer his wise and holy purposes. Had they been as clearly
foretold in all their circumstances as God could have revealed
them, the prediction might have prevented the accomplishment; but
they are foretold more darkly, to beget in us a veneration for the
scripture, and to engage our attention and excite our enquiry. We
have in this revelation a general idea of the methods of divine
providence and government in and about the church, and many good
lessons may be learned hereby. These events (it is said) were such
as should come to pass not only <i>surely,</i> but <i>shortly;</i>
that is, they would begin to come to pass very shortly, and the
whole would be accomplished in a short time. For now the last ages
of the world had come.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p6">III. Here is an attestation of the
prophecy, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.2" parsed="|Rev|1|2|0|0" passage="Re 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. It was
signified to John, who bore record of the word of God, and of the
testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. It is
observable that the historical books of the Old Testament have not
always the name of the historian prefixed to them, as in the books
of <i>Judges, Kings, Chronicles;</i> but in the prophetical books
the name is always prefixed, as <i>Isaiah, Jeremiah,</i> &amp;c. So
in the New Testament, though John did not prefix his name to his
first epistle, yet he does to this prophecy, as ready to vouch and
answer for the truth of it; and he gives us not only his name, but
his office. He was one who bore record of the word of God in
general, and of the testimony of Jesus in particular, and of all
things that he saw; he was an eye-witness, and he concealed nothing
that he saw. Nothing recorded in this revelation was his own
invention or imagination; but all was the record of God and the
testimony of Jesus; and, as he added nothing to it, so he kept back
no part of the counsels of God.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Rev.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.3-Rev.1.8" parsed="|Rev|1|3|1|8" passage="Re 1:3-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.1.3-Rev.1.8">
<h4 id="Rev.ii-p6.3">Apostolic Benediction. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.ii-p6.4">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.ii-p7">3 Blessed <i>is</i> he that readeth, and they
that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which
are written therein: for the time <i>is</i> at hand.   4 John
to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace <i>be</i> unto you,
and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;   5
And from Jesus Christ, <i>who is</i> the faithful witness,
<i>and</i> the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the
kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in his own blood,   6 And hath made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father; to him <i>be</i> glory and dominion for
ever and ever. Amen.   7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and
every eye shall see him, and they <i>also</i> which pierced him:
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so,
Amen.   8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
Almighty.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p8">We have here an apostolic benediction on
those who should give a due regard to this divine revelation; and
this benediction is given more generally and more especially.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p9">I. More generally, to all who either read
or hear the words of the prophecy. This blessing seems to be
pronounced with a design to encourage us to study this book, and
not be weary of looking into it upon account of the obscurity of
many things in it; it will repay the labour of the careful and
attentive reader. Observe, 1. It is a blessed privilege to enjoy
the oracles of God. This was one of the principal advantages the
Jews had above the Gentiles. 2. It is a blessed thing to study the
scriptures; those are well employed who search the scriptures. 3.
It is a privilege not only to read the scriptures ourselves, but to
hear them read by others, who are qualified to give us the sense of
what they read and to lead us into an understanding of them. 4. It
is not sufficient to our blessedness that we read and hear the
scriptures, but we must keep the things that are written; we must
keep them in our memories, in our minds, in our affections, and in
practice, and we shall be blessed in the deed. 5. The nearer we
come to the accomplishment of the scriptures, the greater regard we
shall give to them. The time is at hand, and we should be so much
the more attentive as we see the day approaching.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p10">II. The apostolic benediction is pronounced
more especially and particularly to the seven Asian churches,
<scripRef id="Rev.ii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.4" parsed="|Rev|1|4|0|0" passage="Re 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. These seven
churches are named in <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.11" parsed="|Rev|1|11|0|0" passage="Re 1:11"><i>v.</i>
11</scripRef>, and distinct messages sent to each of them
respectively in the chapters following. The apostolic blessing is
more expressly directed to these because they were nearest to him,
who was now in the isle of Patmos, and perhaps he had the peculiar
care of them, and superintendency over them, not excluding any of
the rest of the apostles, if any of them were now living. Here
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p11">1. What the blessing is which he pronounces
on all the faithful in these churches: <i>Grace and peace,</i>
holiness and comfort. <i>Grace,</i> that is, the good-will of God
towards us and his good work in us; and <i>peace,</i> that is, the
sweet evidence and assurance of this grace. There can be no true
peace where there is not true grace; and, where grace goes before,
peace will follow.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p12">2. Whence this blessing is to come. In
whose name does the apostle bless the churches? In the name of God,
of the whole Trinity; for this is an act of adoration, and God only
is the proper object of it; his ministers must bless the people in
no name but his alone. And here, (1.) The Father is first named:
God the Father, which may be taken either essentially, for God as
God, or personally, for the first person in the ever-blessed
Trinity, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and he is
described as the Jehovah <i>who is, and who was, and who is to
come,</i> eternal, unchangeable, the same to the Old-Testament
church which was, and to the New-Testament church which is, and who
will be the same to the church triumphant which is to come. (2.)
The Holy Spirit, called <i>the seven spirits,</i> not seven in
number, nor in nature, but the infinite perfect Spirit of God, in
whom there is a diversity of gifts and operations. He is before the
throne; for, as God made, so he governs, all things by his Spirit.
(3.) The Lord Jesus Christ. He mentions him after the Spirit,
because he intended to enlarge more upon the person of Christ, as
God manifested in the flesh, whom he had seen dwelling on earth
before, and now saw again in a glorious form. Observe the
particular account we have here of Christ, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.5" parsed="|Rev|1|5|0|0" passage="Re 1:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. [1.] He <i>is the faithful
witness;</i> he was from eternity a witness to all the counsels of
God (<scripRef id="Rev.ii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:John.1.18" parsed="|John|1|18|0|0" passage="Joh 1:18">John i. 18</scripRef>), and he
was in time a faithful witness to the revealed will of God, who has
now spoken to us by his Son; upon his testimony we may safely
depend, for he is a faithful witness, cannot be deceived and cannot
deceive us. [2.] He is the first-begotten or first-born from the
dead, or the first parent and head of the resurrection, the only
one who raised himself by his own power, and who will by the same
power raise up his people from their graves to everlasting honour;
for he has begotten them again to a lively hope by his resurrection
from the dead. [3.] He is the prince of the kings of the earth;
from him they have their authority; by him their power is limited
and their wrath restrained; by him their counsels are over-ruled,
and to him they are accountable. This is good news to the church,
and it is good evidence of the Godhead of Christ, who is King of
kings and Lord of lords. [4.] He is the great friend of his church
and people, one who has done great things for them, and this out of
pure disinterested affection. He has loved them, and, in pursuance
of that everlasting love, he has, <i>First, Washed them from their
sins in his own blood.</i> Sins leave a stain upon the soul, a
stain of guilt and of pollution. Nothing can fetch out this stain
but the blood of Christ; and, rather than it should not be washed
out, Christ was willing to shed his own blood, to purchase pardon
and purity for them. <i>Secondly,</i> He has <i>made them kings and
priests to God and his Father.</i> Having justified and sanctified
them, he makes them kings to his Father; that is, in his Father's
account, with his approbation, and for his glory. As kings, they
govern their own spirits, conquer Satan, have power and prevalency
with God in prayer, and shall judge the world. He hath made them
priests, given them access to God, enabled them to enter into the
holiest and to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices, and has
given them an unction suitable to this character; and for these
high honours and favours they are bound to ascribe to him dominion
and glory for ever. [5.] He will be the Judge of the world:
<i>Behold, he cometh, and every eye shall see him,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.7" parsed="|Rev|1|7|0|0" passage="Re 1:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. This book, the Revelation,
begins and ends with a prediction of the second coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We should set ourselves to meditate frequently upon
the second coming of Christ, and keep it in the eye of our faith
and expectation. John speaks as if he saw that day: "<i>Behold, he
cometh,</i> as sure as if you beheld him with your eyes. <i>He
cometh with clouds,</i> which are his chariot and pavilion. He will
come publicly: <i>Every eye shall see him,</i> the eye of his
people, the eye of his enemies, every eye, yours and mine." He
shall come, to the terror of those who have pierced him and have
not repented and of all who have wounded and crucified him afresh
by their apostasy from him, and to the astonishment of the pagan
world. For he comes to take vengeance on those who know not God, as
well as on those that obey not the gospel of Christ. [6.] This
account of Christ is ratified and confirmed by himself, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.8" parsed="|Rev|1|8|0|0" passage="Re 1:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Here our Lord Jesus justly
challenges the same honour and power that is ascribed to the
Father, <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.4" parsed="|Rev|1|4|0|0" passage="Re 1:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>. He is
the beginning and the end; all things are from him and for him; he
is the Almighty; he is the same eternal and unchangeable one. And
surely whoever presumes to blot out one character of this name of
Christ deserves to have his name blotted out of the book of life.
Those that honour him he will honour; but those who despise him
shall be lightly esteemed.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Rev.ii-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.9-Rev.1.20" parsed="|Rev|1|9|1|20" passage="Re 1:9-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.1.9-Rev.1.20">
<h4 id="Rev.ii-p12.7">John's Vision of Christ. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.ii-p12.8">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.ii-p13">9 I John, who also am your brother, and
companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus
Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God,
and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.   10 I was in the
Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of
a trumpet,   11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and
the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send <i>it</i>
unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto
Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and
unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.   12 And I turned to see
the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden
candlesticks;   13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks
<i>one</i> like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to
the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.   14
His head and <i>his</i> hairs <i>were</i> white like wool, as white
as snow; and his eyes <i>were</i> as a flame of fire;   15 And
his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and
his voice as the sound of many waters.   16 And he had in his
right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged
sword: and his countenance <i>was</i> as the sun shineth in his
strength.   17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.
And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am
the first and the last:   18 I <i>am</i> he that liveth, and
was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death.   19 Write the things which thou
hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be
hereafter;   20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou
sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p14">We have now come to that glorious vision
which the apostle had of the Lord Jesus Christ, when he came to
deliver this revelation to him, where observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p15">I. The account given of the person who was
favoured with this vision. He describes himself, 1. By his present
state and condition. He was <i>the brother and companion of these
churches in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of
Christ.</i> He was, at their time, as the rest of true Christians
were, a persecuted man, banished, and perhaps imprisoned, for his
adherence to Christ. He was their <i>brother,</i> though an
apostle; he seems to value himself upon his relation to the church,
rather than his authority in it: Judas Iscariot may be an apostle,
but not a brother in the family of God. He was their companion: the
children of God should choose communion and society with each
other. He was their companion in tribulation: the persecuted
servants of God did not suffer alone, the same trials are
accomplished in others. He was their companion in patience, not
only a sharer with them in suffering circumstances, but in
suffering graces: if we have the patience of the saints, we should
not grudge to meet with their trials. He was their <i>brother and
companion in the patience of the kingdom of Christ,</i> a sufferer
for Christ's cause, for asserting his kingly power over the church
and the world, and for adhering to it against all who would usurp
upon it. By this account he gives of his present state, he
acknowledges his engagements to sympathize with them, and to
endeavour to give them counsel and comfort, and bespeaks their more
careful attention to what he had to say to them from Christ their
common Lord. 2. By the place where he was when he was favoured with
this vision: he was in <i>the isle Patmos.</i> He does not say who
banished him thither. It becomes Christians to speak sparingly and
modestly of their own sufferings. Patmos is said to be an island in
the Aegean Sea, One of those called Cyclades, and was about
thirty-five miles in compass; but under this confinement it was the
apostle's comfort that he did not suffer as an evil-doer, but that
it was for the testimony of Jesus, for bearing witness to Christ as
the Immanuel, the Saviour. This was a cause worth suffering for;
and the Spirit of glory and of God rested upon this persecuted
apostle. 3. The day and time in which he had this vision: it was
<i>the Lord's day,</i> the day which Christ had separated and set
apart for himself, as the eucharist is called <i>the Lord's
supper.</i> Surely this can be no other than the Christian sabbath,
the first day of the week, to be observed in remembrance of the
resurrection of Christ. Let us who call him <i>our Lord</i> honour
him on his own day, the day which the Lord hath made and in which
we ought to rejoice. 4. The frame that his soul was in at this
time: <i>He was in the Spirit.</i> He was not only in a rapture
when he received the vision, but before he received it; he was in a
serious, heavenly, spiritual frame, under the blessed gracious
influences of the Spirit of God. God usually prepares the souls of
his people for uncommon manifestations of himself, by the
quickening sanctifying influences of his good Spirit. Those who
would enjoy communion with God on the Lord's day must endeavour to
abstract their thoughts and affections from flesh and fleshly
things, and be wholly taken up with things of a spiritual
nature.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p16">II. The apostle gives an account of what he
heard when thus in the Spirit. An alarm was given as with the sound
of a trumpet, and then <i>he heard a voice,</i> the voice of Christ
applying to himself the character before given, <i>the first and
the last,</i> and commanding the apostle to commit to writing the
things that were now to be revealed to him, and to send it
immediately <i>to the seven Asian churches,</i> whose names are
mentioned. Thus our Lord Jesus, the captain of our salvation, gave
the apostle notice of his glorious appearance, as with the sound of
a trumpet.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p17">III. We have also an account of what he
saw. <i>He turned to see the voice,</i> whose it was and whence it
came; and then a wonderful scene of vision opened itself to
him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p18">1. He saw a representation of the church
under the emblem of <i>seven golden candlesticks,</i> as it is
explained in the <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.20" parsed="|Rev|1|20|0|0" passage="Re 1:20">last verse of the
chapter</scripRef>. The churches are compared to candlesticks,
because they hold forth the light of the gospel to advantage. The
churches are not candles: Christ only is our light, and his gospel
our lamp; but they receive their light from Christ and the gospel,
and hold it forth to others. They are golden candlesticks, for they
should be precious and pure, comparable to fine gold; not only the
ministers, but the members of the churches ought to be such; their
light should so shine before men as to engage others to give glory
to God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p19">2. He saw a representation of the Lord
Jesus Christ in the midst of the golden candlesticks; for he has
promised to be with his churches always to the end of the world,
filling them with light, and life, and love, for he is the very
animating informing soul of the church. And here we observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p20">(1.) The glorious form in which Christ
appeared in several particulars. [1.] He was <i>clothed with a
garment down to the foot,</i> a princely and priestly robe,
denoting righteousness and honour. [2.] <i>He was girt about with a
golden girdle,</i> the breast-plate of the high priest, on which
the names of his people are engraven; he was ready girt to do all
the work of a Redeemer. [3.] <i>His head and hairs were white like
wool or snow.</i> He was the Ancient of days; his hoary head was no
sign of decay, but was indeed a crown of glory. [4.] <i>His eyes
were as a flame of fire,</i> piercing and penetrating into the very
hearts and reins of men, scattering terrors among his adversaries.
[5.] <i>His feet were like unto fine burning brass,</i> strong and
stedfast, supporting his own interest, subduing his enemies,
treading them to powder. [6.] <i>His voice was as the sound of many
waters,</i> of many rivers falling in together. He can and will
make himself heard to those who are afar off as well as to those
who are near. His gospel is a profluent and mighty stream, fed by
the upper springs of infinite wisdom and knowledge. [7.] <i>He had
in his right hand seven stars,</i> that is, the ministers of the
seven churches, who are under his direction, have all their light
and influence from him, and are secured and preserved by him. [8.]
<i>Out of his mouth went a two-edged sword,</i> his word, which
both wounds and heals, strikes at sin on the right hand and on the
left, [9.] <i>His countenance was as the sun shining,</i> its
strength too bright and dazzling for mortal eyes to behold.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p21">(2.) The impression this appearance of
Christ made upon the apostle John (<scripRef id="Rev.ii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.17" parsed="|Rev|1|17|0|0" passage="Re 1:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>): <i>He fell at the feet of
Christ as dead;</i> he was overpowered with the greatness of the
lustre and glory in which Christ appeared, though he had been so
familiar with him before. How well is it for us that God speaks to
us by men like ourselves, whose terrors shall not make us afraid,
for none can see the face of God and live!</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.ii-p22">(3.) The condescending goodness of the Lord
Jesus to his disciple: <i>He laid his hand upon him,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.ii-p22.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.17" parsed="|Rev|1|17|0|0" passage="Re 1:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. He raised him up; he did
not plead against him with his great power, but he put strength
into him, he spoke kind words to him. [1.] Words of comfort and
encouragement: <i>Fear not.</i> He commanded away the slavish fears
of his disciple. [2.] Words of instruction, telling him
particularly who he was that thus appeared to him. And here he
acquaints him, <i>First,</i> with his divine nature: <i>The first
and the last. Secondly,</i> With his former sufferings: <i>I was
dead;</i> the very same that his disciples saw upon the cross dying
for the sins of men. <i>Thirdly,</i> With his resurrection and
life: "<i>I live, and am alive for evermore,</i> have conquered
death and opened the grave, and am partaker of an endless life."
<i>Fourthly,</i> With his office and authority: <i>I have the keys
of hell and of death,</i> a sovereign dominion in and over the
invisible world, opening and none can shut, shutting so that none
can open, opening the gates of death when he pleases and the gates
of the eternal world, of happiness or misery, as the Judge of all,
from whose sentence there lies no appeal. <i>Fifthly,</i> With his
will and pleasure: <i>Write the things which thou hast seen, and
the things which are, and which shall be hereafter. Sixthly,</i>
With the meaning of the seven stars, that <i>they are the ministers
of the churches;</i> and of the seven candlesticks, that <i>they
are the seven churches,</i> to whom Christ would now send by him
particular and proper messages.</p>
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