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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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<h3><a href="http://www.biblesnet.com" target="_blank">Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page</a>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC66000.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>R E V E L A T I O N.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter is a general preface to the whole book, and contains,
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I. An inscription, declaring the original and the design of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. The apostolic benediction pronounced on all those who shall pay a
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due regard to the contents of this book,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:3-8">ver. 3-8</A>.
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III. A glorious vision or appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to the
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apostle John, when he delivered to him this revelation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:9-20">ver. 9, to the end</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Re1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Substance of the Book.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 95.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to
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show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;
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and he sent and signified <I>it</I> by his angel unto his servant
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John:
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2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of
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Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have,</P>
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<P>
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I. What we may call the pedigree of this book.
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1. It is <I>the revelation of Jesus Christ.</I> The whole Bible is so;
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for all revelation comes through Christ and all centres in him; and
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especially <I>in these last days God has spoken to us by his Son,</I>
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and concerning his Son. Christ, as the king of his church, has been
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pleased thus far to let his church know by what rules and methods he
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will proceed in his government; and, as the prophet of the church, he
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has made known to us the things that shall be hereafter.
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2. It is a revelation <I>which God gave unto Christ.</I> Though Christ
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is himself God, and as such has light and life in himself, yet, as he
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sustains the office of <I>Mediator between God and man,</I> he receives
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his instructions from the Father. The human nature of Christ, though
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endowed with the greatest sagacity, judgment, and penetration, could
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not, in a way of reason, discover these great events, which not being
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produced by natural causes, but wholly depending upon the will of God,
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could be the object only of divine prescience, and must come to a
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created mind only by revelation. Our Lord Jesus is the great trustee of
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divine revelation; it is to him that we owe the knowledge we have of
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what we are to expect from God and what he expects from us.
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3. This revelation Christ <I>sent and signified by his angel.</I>
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Observe here the admirable order of divine revelation. God gave it to
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Christ, and Christ employed an angel to communicate it to the churches.
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The angels are God's messengers; they are ministering spirits to the
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heirs of salvation. They are Christ's servants: principalities and
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powers are subject to him; all the angels of God are obliged to worship
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him.
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4. The angels <I>signified it to the apostle John.</I> As the angels
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are the messengers of Christ, the ministers are the messengers of the
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churches; what they receive from heaven, they are to communicate to the
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churches. John was the apostle chosen for this service. Some think he
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was the only one surviving, the rest having sealed their testimony with
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their blood. This was to be the last book of divine revelation; and
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therefore notified to the church by the last of the apostles. John was
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the beloved disciple. He was, under the New Testament, as the prophet
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Daniel under the Old, <I>a man greatly beloved.</I> He was the servant
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of Christ; he was an apostle, an evangelist, and a prophet; he served
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Christ in all the three extraordinary offices of the church. James was
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an apostle, but not a prophet, nor an evangelist; Matthew was an
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apostle and evangelist, but not a prophet; Luke was an evangelist, but
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neither a prophet nor an apostle; but John was all three; and so Christ
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calls him in an eminent sense his <I>servant John.</I>
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5. John was to deliver this revelation to the church, to all his
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servants. For the revelation was not designed for the use of Christ's
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extraordinary servants the ministers only, but for all his servants,
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the members of the church; they have all a right to the oracles of God,
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and all have their concern in them.</P>
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<P>
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II. Here we have the subject-matter of this revelation, namely, the
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things that must shortly come to pass. The evangelists give us an
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account of the things that are past; prophecy gives us an account of
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things to come. These future events are shown, not in the clearest
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light in which God could have set them, but in such a light as he saw
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most proper, and which would best answer his wise and holy purposes.
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Had they been as clearly foretold in all their circumstances as God
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could have revealed them, the prediction might have prevented the
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accomplishment; but they are foretold more darkly, to beget in us a
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veneration for the scripture, and to engage our attention and excite
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our enquiry. We have in this revelation a general idea of the methods
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of divine providence and government in and about the church, and many
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good lessons may be learned hereby. These events (it is said) were such
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as should come to pass not only <I>surely,</I> but <I>shortly;</I> that
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is, they would begin to come to pass very shortly, and the whole would
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be accomplished in a short time. For now the last ages of the world had
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come.</P>
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<P>
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III. Here is an attestation of the prophecy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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It was signified to John, who bore record of the word of God, and of
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the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. It is
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observable that the historical books of the Old Testament have not
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always the name of the historian prefixed to them, as in the books of
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<I>Judges, Kings, Chronicles;</I> but in the prophetical books the name
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is always prefixed, as <I>Isaiah, Jeremiah,</I> &c. So in the New
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Testament, though John did not prefix his name to his first epistle,
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yet he does to this prophecy, as ready to vouch and answer for the
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truth of it; and he gives us not only his name, but his office. He was
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one who bore record of the word of God in general, and of the testimony
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of Jesus in particular, and of all things that he saw; he was an
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eye-witness, and he concealed nothing that he saw. Nothing recorded in
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this revelation was his own invention or imagination; but all was the
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record of God and the testimony of Jesus; and, as he added nothing to
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it, so he kept back no part of the counsels of God.</P>
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<A NAME="Re1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Apostolic Benediction.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 95.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 Blessed <I>is</I> he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
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this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:
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for the time <I>is</I> at hand.
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4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace <I>be</I> unto
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you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to
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come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
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5 And from Jesus Christ, <I>who is</I> the faithful witness, <I>and</I>
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the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of
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the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in
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his own blood,
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6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;
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to him <I>be</I> glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
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7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him,
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and they <I>also</I> which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth
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shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
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8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the
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Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the
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Almighty.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here an apostolic benediction on those who should give a due
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regard to this divine revelation; and this benediction is given more
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generally and more especially.</P>
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<P>
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I. More generally, to all who either read or hear the words of the
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prophecy. This blessing seems to be pronounced with a design to
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encourage us to study this book, and not be weary of looking into it
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upon account of the obscurity of many things in it; it will repay the
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labour of the careful and attentive reader. Observe,
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1. It is a blessed privilege to enjoy the oracles of God. This was one
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of the principal advantages the Jews had above the Gentiles.
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2. It is a blessed thing to study the scriptures; those are well
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employed who search the scriptures.
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3. It is a privilege not only to read the scriptures ourselves, but to
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hear them read by others, who are qualified to give us the sense of
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what they read and to lead us into an understanding of them.
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4. It is not sufficient to our blessedness that we read and hear the
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scriptures, but we must keep the things that are written; we must keep
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them in our memories, in our minds, in our affections, and in practice,
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and we shall be blessed in the deed.
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5. The nearer we come to the accomplishment of the scriptures, the
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greater regard we shall give to them. The time is at hand, and we
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should be so much the more attentive as we see the day approaching.</P>
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<P>
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II. The apostolic benediction is pronounced more especially and
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particularly to the seven Asian churches,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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These seven churches are named in
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>,
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and distinct messages sent to each of them respectively in the chapters
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following. The apostolic blessing is more expressly directed to these
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because they were nearest to him, who was now in the isle of Patmos,
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and perhaps he had the peculiar care of them, and superintendency over
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them, not excluding any of the rest of the apostles, if any of them
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were now living. Here observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. What the blessing is which he pronounces on all the faithful in
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these churches: <I>Grace and peace,</I> holiness and comfort.
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<I>Grace,</I> that is, the good-will of God towards us and his good
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work in us; and <I>peace,</I> that is, the sweet evidence and assurance
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of this grace. There can be no true peace where there is not true
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grace; and, where grace goes before, peace will follow.</P>
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<P>
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2. Whence this blessing is to come. In whose name does the apostle
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bless the churches? In the name of God, of the whole Trinity; for this
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is an act of adoration, and God only is the proper object of it; his
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ministers must bless the people in no name but his alone. And here,
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(1.) The Father is first named: God the Father, which may be taken
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either essentially, for God as God, or personally, for the first person
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in the ever-blessed Trinity, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
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Christ; and he is described as the Jehovah <I>who is, and who was, and
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who is to come,</I> eternal, unchangeable, the same to the
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Old-Testament church which was, and to the New-Testament church which
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is, and who will be the same to the church triumphant which is to come.
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(2.) The Holy Spirit, called <I>the seven spirits,</I> not seven in
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number, nor in nature, but the infinite perfect Spirit of God, in whom
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there is a diversity of gifts and operations. He is before the throne;
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for, as God made, so he governs, all things by his Spirit.
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(3.) The Lord Jesus Christ. He mentions him after the Spirit, because
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he intended to enlarge more upon the person of Christ, as God
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manifested in the flesh, whom he had seen dwelling on earth before, and
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now saw again in a glorious form. Observe the particular account we
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have here of Christ,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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[1.] He <I>is the faithful witness;</I> he was from eternity a witness
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to all the counsels of God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+1:18">John i. 18</A>),
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and he was in time a faithful witness to the revealed will of God, who
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has now spoken to us by his Son; upon his testimony we may safely
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depend, for he is a faithful witness, cannot be deceived and cannot
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deceive us.
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[2.] He is the first-begotten or first-born from the dead, or the first
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parent and head of the resurrection, the only one who raised himself by
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his own power, and who will by the same power raise up his people from
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their graves to everlasting honour; for he has begotten them again to a
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lively hope by his resurrection from the dead.
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[3.] He is the prince of the kings of the earth; from him they have
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their authority; by him their power is limited and their wrath
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restrained; by him their counsels are over-ruled, and to him they are
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accountable. This is good news to the church, and it is good evidence
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of the Godhead of Christ, who is King of kings and Lord of lords.
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[4.] He is the great friend of his church and people, one who has done
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great things for them, and this out of pure disinterested affection. He
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has loved them, and, in pursuance of that everlasting love, he has,
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<I>First, Washed them from their sins in his own blood.</I> Sins leave
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a stain upon the soul, a stain of guilt and of pollution. Nothing can
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fetch out this stain but the blood of Christ; and, rather than it
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should not be washed out, Christ was willing to shed his own blood, to
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purchase pardon and purity for them. <I>Secondly,</I> He has <I>made
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them kings and priests to God and his Father.</I> Having justified and
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sanctified them, he makes them kings to his Father; that is, in his
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Father's account, with his approbation, and for his glory. As kings,
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they govern their own spirits, conquer Satan, have power and prevalency
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with God in prayer, and shall judge the world. He hath made them
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priests, given them access to God, enabled them to enter into the
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holiest and to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices, and has given
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them an unction suitable to this character; and for these high honours
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and favours they are bound to ascribe to him dominion and glory for
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ever.
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[5.] He will be the Judge of the world: <I>Behold, he cometh, and every
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eye shall see him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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This book, the Revelation, begins and ends with a prediction of the
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second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should set ourselves to
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meditate frequently upon the second coming of Christ, and keep it in
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the eye of our faith and expectation. John speaks as if he saw that
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day: "<I>Behold, he cometh,</I> as sure as if you beheld him with your
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eyes. <I>He cometh with clouds,</I> which are his chariot and pavilion.
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He will come publicly: <I>Every eye shall see him,</I> the eye of his
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people, the eye of his enemies, every eye, yours and mine." He shall
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come, to the terror of those who have pierced him and have not repented
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and of all who have wounded and crucified him afresh by their apostasy
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from him, and to the astonishment of the pagan world. For he comes to
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take vengeance on those who know not God, as well as on those that obey
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not the gospel of Christ.
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[6.] This account of Christ is ratified and confirmed by himself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Here our Lord Jesus justly challenges the same honour and power that is
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ascribed to the Father,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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He is the beginning and the end; all things are from him and for him;
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he is the Almighty; he is the same eternal and unchangeable one. And
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surely whoever presumes to blot out one character of this name of
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Christ deserves to have his name blotted out of the book of life. Those
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that honour him he will honour; but those who despise him shall be
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lightly esteemed.</P>
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<A NAME="Re1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Re1_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>John's Vision of Christ.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 95.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in
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tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was
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in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for
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the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a
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great voice, as of a trumpet,
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11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and,
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What thou seest, write in a book, and send <I>it</I> unto the seven
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churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and
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|
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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
1. He saw a representation of the church under the emblem of <I>seven
|
|
golden candlesticks,</I> as it is explained in the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:20">last verse of the chapter</A>.
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
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>
|
|
|
|
(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>
|
|
|
|
(2.) The impression this appearance of Christ made upon the apostle
|
|
John
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>):
|
|
|
|
<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>
|
|
|
|
(3.) The condescending goodness of the Lord Jesus to his disciple:
|
|
<I>He laid his hand upon him,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
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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