mh_parser/vol_split/66 - Revelation/Chapter 9.xml

<div2 id="Rev.x" n="x" next="Rev.xi" prev="Rev.ix" progress="97.06%" title="Chapter IX">
<h2 id="Rev.x-p0.1">R E V E L A T I O N.</h2>
<h3 id="Rev.x-p0.2">CHAP. IX.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Rev.x-p1">In this chapter we have an account of the sounding
of the fifth and sixth trumpets, the appearances that attended
them, and the events that were to follow; the fifth trumpet
(<scripRef id="Rev.x-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.1-Rev.9.12" parsed="|Rev|9|1|9|12" passage="Re 9:1-12">ver. 1-12</scripRef>), the sixth,
<scripRef id="Rev.x-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.13-Rev.9.21" parsed="|Rev|9|13|9|21" passage="Re 9:13-21">ver. 13, &amp;c.</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Rev.x-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9" parsed="|Rev|9|0|0|0" passage="Re 9" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Rev.x-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.1-Rev.9.12" parsed="|Rev|9|1|9|12" passage="Re 9:1-12" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.9.1-Rev.9.12">
<h4 id="Rev.x-p1.5">The Seven Trumpets. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.x-p1.6">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.x-p2">1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star
fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of
the bottomless pit.   2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and
there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great
furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the
smoke of the pit.   3 And there came out of the smoke locusts
upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of
the earth have power.   4 And it was commanded them that they
should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing,
neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God
in their foreheads.   5 And to them it was given that they
should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five
months: and their torment <i>was</i> as the torment of a scorpion,
when he striketh a man.   6 And in those days shall men seek
death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death
shall flee from them.   7 And the shapes of the locusts
<i>were</i> like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their
heads <i>were</i> as it were crowns like gold, and their faces
<i>were</i> as the faces of men.   8 And they had hair as the
hair of women, and their teeth were as <i>the teeth</i> of lions.
  9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of
iron; and the sound of their wings <i>was</i> as the sound of
chariots of many horses running to battle.   10 And they had
tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails:
and their power <i>was</i> to hurt men five months.   11 And
they had a king over them, <i>which is</i> the angel of the
bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue <i>is</i> Abaddon,
but in the Greek tongue hath <i>his</i> name Apollyon.   12
One woe is past; <i>and,</i> behold, there come two woes more
hereafter.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.x-p3">Upon the sounding of this trumpet, the
things to be observed are, 1. <i>A star falling from heaven to the
earth.</i> Some think this star represents some eminent bishop in
the Christian church, some angel of the church; for, in the same
way of speaking by which pastors are called stars, the church is
called heaven; but who this is expositors do not agree. Some
understand it of Boniface the third bishop of Rome, who assumed the
title of universal bishop, by the favour of the emperor Phocas,
who, being a usurper and tyrant in the state, allowed Boniface to
be so in the church, as the reward of his flattery. 2. To this
fallen star <i>was given the key of the bottomless pit.</i> Having
now ceased to be a minister of Christ, he becomes the antichrist,
the minister of the devil; and by the permission of Christ, who had
taken from him the keys of the church, he becomes the devil's
turnkey, to let loose the powers of hell against the churches of
Christ. 3. Upon the opening of the bottomless pit <i>there arose a
great smoke,</i> which darkened the sun and the air. The devils are
the powers of darkness; hell is the place of darkness. The devil
carries on his designs by blinding the eyes of men, by
extinguishing light and knowledge, and promoting ignorance and
error. He first deceives men, and then destroys them; wretched
souls follow him in the dark, or they durst not follow him. 4. Out
of this dark smoke there came a swarm of locusts, one of the
plagues of Egypt, the devil's emissaries headed by the antichrist,
all the rout and rabble of antichristian orders, to promote
superstition, idolatry, error, and cruelty; and these had, by the
just permission of God, power to hurt those who had not the mark of
God in their foreheads. 5. The hurt they were to do them was not a
bodily, but a spiritual hurt. They should not in a military way
destroy all by fire and sword; the trees and the grass should be
untouched, and those they hurt should not be slain; it should not
be a persecution, but a secret poison and infection in their souls,
which should rob them of their purity, and afterwards of their
peace. Heresy is a poison in the soul, working slowly and secretly,
but will be bitterness in the end. 6. They had no power so much as
to hurt those who had the seal of God in their foreheads. God's
electing, effectual, distinguishing grace will preserve his people
from total and final apostasy. 7. The power given to these factors
for hell is limited in point of time: <i>five months,</i> a certain
season, and but a short season, though how short we cannot tell.
Gospel-seasons have their limits, and times of seduction are
limited too. 8. Though it would be short, it would be very sharp,
insomuch that those who were made to feel the malignity of this
poison in their consciences would be weary of their lives,
<scripRef id="Rev.x-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.6" parsed="|Rev|9|6|0|0" passage="Re 9:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. <i>A wounded
spirit who can bear?</i> 9. These locusts were of a monstrous size
and shape, <scripRef id="Rev.x-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.7-Rev.9.8" parsed="|Rev|9|7|9|8" passage="Re 9:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>,
&amp;c. They were equipped for their work like horses prepared to
battle. (1.) They pretended to great authority, and seemed to be
assured of victory: <i>They had crowns like gold on their
heads;</i> it was not a true, but a counterfeit authority. (2.)
They had the show of wisdom and sagacity, <i>the faces of men,</i>
though the spirit of devils. (3.) They had all the allurements of
seeming beauty, to ensnare and defile the minds of men—<i>hair
like women;</i> their way of worship was very gaudy and ornamental.
(4.) Though they appeared with the tenderness of women, they had
<i>the teeth of lions,</i> were really cruel creatures. (5.) They
had the defence and protection of earthly powers—<i>breastplates
of iron.</i> (6.) They made a mighty noise in the world; they flew
about from one country to another, and the noise of their motion
was like that of an army with chariots and horses. (7.) Though at
first they soothed and flattered men with a fair appearance, there
was a sting in their tails; the cup of their abominations contained
that which, though luscious at first, would at length bite like a
serpent and sting like an adder. (8.) The king and commander of
this hellish squadron is here described, [1.] As an angel; so he
was by nature, an angel, once one of the angels of heaven. [2.]
<i>The angel of the bottomless pit;</i> an angel still, but a
fallen angel, fallen into the bottomless pit, vastly large, and out
of which there is no recovery. [3.] In these infernal regions he is
a sort of prince and governor, and has the powers of darkness under
his rule and command. [4.] His true name is <i>Abaddon, Apollyon—a
destroyer,</i> for that is his business, his design, and
employment, to which he diligently attends, in which he is very
successful, and takes a horrid hellish pleasure; it is about this
destroying work that he sends out his emissaries and armies to
destroy the souls of men. And now here we have the end of one woe;
and where one ends another begins.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Rev.x-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.13-Rev.9.21" parsed="|Rev|9|13|9|21" passage="Re 9:13-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Rev.9.13-Rev.9.21">
<h4 id="Rev.x-p3.4">The Seventh Trumpet. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Rev.x-p3.5">a.
d.</span> 95.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Rev.x-p4">13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a
voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
  14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose
the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
  15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for
an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third
part of men.   16 And the number of the army of the horsemen
<i>were</i> two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number
of them.   17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and
them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth,
and brimstone: and the heads of the horses <i>were</i> as the heads
of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and
brimstone.   18 By these three was the third part of men
killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which
issued out of their mouths.   19 For their power is in their
mouth, and in their tails: for their tails <i>were</i> like unto
serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.   20 And
the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet
repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not
worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and
stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
  21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.x-p5">Here let us consider the preface to this
vision, and then the vision itself.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.x-p6">I. The preface to this vision: <i>A voice
was heard from the horns of the golden altar,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.x-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.13-Rev.9.14" parsed="|Rev|9|13|9|14" passage="Re 9:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>. Here observe, 1.
The power of the church's enemies is restrained till God gives the
word to have them turned loose. 2. When nations are ripe for
punishment, those instruments of God's anger that were before
restrained are let loose upon them, <scripRef id="Rev.x-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.14" parsed="|Rev|9|14|0|0" passage="Re 9:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>. 3. The instruments that God
makes use of to punish a people may sometimes lie at a great
distance from them, so that no danger may be apprehended from them.
These four messengers of divine judgment lay bound in the river
Euphrates, a great way from the European nations. Here the Turkish
power had its rise, which seems to be the story of this vision.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.x-p7">II. The vision itself: <i>And the four
angels that had been bound in the great river Euphrates were now
loosed,</i> <scripRef id="Rev.x-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.15-Rev.9.16" parsed="|Rev|9|15|9|16" passage="Re 9:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15,
16</scripRef>. And here observe, 1. The time of their military
operations and executions is limited to <i>an hour, and a day, and
a month, and a year.</i> Prophetic characters of time are hardly to
be understood by us; but in general the time is fixed to an hour,
when it shall begin and when it shall end; and how far the
execution shall prevail, even to a third part of the inhabitants of
the earth. God will make the wrath of man praise him, and the
remainder of wrath he will restrain. 2. The army that was to
execute this great commission is mustered, and the number found to
be of horsemen <i>two hundred thousand thousand;</i> but we are
left to guess what the infantry must be. In general, it tells us,
the armies of the Mahomedan empire should be vastly great; and so
it is certain they were. 3. Their formidable equipage and
appearance, <scripRef id="Rev.x-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.17" parsed="|Rev|9|17|0|0" passage="Re 9:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. As
the horses were fierce, like lions, and eager to rush into the
battle, so those who sat upon them were clad in bright and costly
armour, with all the ensigns of martial courage, zeal, and
resolution. 4. The vast havoc and desolation that they made in the
Roman empire, which had now become antichristian: A third part of
them were killed; they went as far as their commission suffered
them, and they could go no further. 5. Their artillery, by which
they made such slaughter, described <i>by fire, smoke, and
brimstone,</i> issuing out of the mouths of their horses, and the
stings that were in their tails. It is Mr. Mede's opinion that this
is a prediction of great guns, those instruments of cruelty which
make such destruction: he observes, These were first used by the
Turks at the siege of Constantinople, and, being new and strange,
were very terrible, and did great execution. However, here seems to
be an allusion to what is mentioned in the former vision, that, as
antichrist had his forces of a spiritual nature, like scorpions
poisoning the minds of men with error and idolatry, so the Turks,
who were raised up to punish the antichristian apostasy, had their
scorpions and their stings too, to hurt and kill the bodies of
those who had been the murderers of so many souls. 6. Observe the
impenitency of the antichristian generation under these dreadful
judgments (<scripRef id="Rev.x-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.20" parsed="|Rev|9|20|0|0" passage="Re 9:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>);
the rest of the men who were not killed repented not, they still
persisted in those sins for which God was so severely punishing
them, which were, (1.) Their idolatry; they would not cast away
their images, though they could do them no good, <i>could not see,
nor hear, nor walk.</i> (2.) Their murders (<scripRef id="Rev.x-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.9.21" parsed="|Rev|9|21|0|0" passage="Re 9:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), which they had committed upon
the saints and servants of Christ. Popery is a bloody religion, and
seems resolved to continue such. (3.) Their sorceries; they have
their charms, and magic arts, and rites in exorcism and other
things. (4.) Their fornication; they allow both spiritual and
carnal impurity, and promote it in themselves and others. (5.)
Their thefts; they have by unjust means heaped together a vast deal
of wealth, to the injury and impoverishing of families, cities,
princes, and nations. These are the flagrant crimes of antichrist
and his agents; and, though God has revealed his wrath from heaven
against them, they are obstinate, hardened, and impenitent, and
judicially so, for they must be destroyed.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Rev.x-p8">III. From this sixth trumpet we learn, 1.
God can make one enemy of the church to be a scourge and plague to
another. 2. He who is the Lord of hosts has vast armies at his
command, to serve his own purposes. 3. The most formidable powers
have limits set them, which they cannot transgress. 4. When God's
judgments are in the earth, he expects the inhabitants thereof
should repent of sin, and learn righteousness. 5. Impenitency under
divine judgments is an iniquity that will be the ruin of sinners;
for where God judges he will overcome.</p>
</div></div2>