Albert Barnes · 49 of 75

The Revelation of St. John the Divine · Chapter I. Analysis of the Chapter · Part 39

III. The witnesses dead, ver. 8‒10. The preceding verse contains the statement that they would be overcome and killed; these verses describe their treatment when they would be dead; that is, when they would be silenced. There are several circumstances referred to here which demand notice.

(a) The place where it is said that this would occur—that “great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,” ver. 8. In the explanation of this verse, it has been shown that the language used here is such as would be properly employed, on the supposition that the intention was to refer to Rome, or the Romish communion. A few testimonies may serve to confirm the interpretation proposed in the Notes on ver. 8, and to show farther the propriety of applying the appellation “Sodom” and “Egypt” to Rome. Thus among the Reformers, “Grosteste perceived that the whole scheme of the Papal government was enmity with God, and exclaimed that nothing but the sword could deliver the church from the Egyptian bondage” (D’Aubigné). Wycliffe compared the Romish priestcraft to “the accursed sorceries with which the sages of Pharaoh presumed to emulate the works of Jehovah” (Le Bas’ Wycliffe, pp. 68, 147). Luther, in a letter to Melancthon, says, “Italy is plunged, as in ancient times in Egypt, in darkness that may be felt.” And of Zuingle in Switzerland, they who longed for the light of salvation said of him, “He will be our Moses, to deliver us out of the darkness of Egypt.” Any number of passages could be found in the writings of the Reformers, and even some in the writings of Romanists themselves, in which the abominations that prevailed in Rome are compared with those in Sodom. Comp. Elliott, ii. pp. 386, 387, notes. Assuming this to be the correct interpretation, the meaning is, that a state of things would exist after the silencing of the witnesses which would be well represented by supposing that their dead bodies would lie unburied; that is, that there would be dishonour and indignity heaped upon them, such as is shown to the dead when they are suffered to lie unburied. No one needs to be informed that this accurately represents the state of things throughout the Roman world. To the “witnesses” thus persecuted, downtrodden, and silenced, there was the same kind of indignity shown which there is when the dead are left unburied.

(b) The exposure of their bodies, ver. 8. That is, as we have seen, they would be treated with indignity, as if they were not worthy of Christian burial. Now this not only expresses what was in fact the general feeling among the Papists in respect to those whom they regarded as heretics, but it had a literal fulfilment in numerous cases where the rites of Christian burial were denied them. One of the punishments most constantly decreed and constantly enforced in reference to those who were called “heretics,” was their exclusion from burial as persons excommunicated and without the pale of the church. Thus, in the third council of Lateran (A.D. 1179), Christian burial was denied to heretics; the same in the Lateran council A.D. 1215, and the Papal decree of Gregory IX., A.D. 1227; the same again in that of Pope Martin, A.D. 1422; and the same thing was determined in the council of Constance, A.D. 1422, which ordered that the body of Wycliffe should be exhumed, and that the ashes of John Huss, instead of being buried, should be collected and thrown into the lake of Constance. It may be added that Savonarola’s ashes were in a similar manner cast into the Arno, A.D. 1498; and that in the first bull intrusted to the cardinal Cajetan against Luther, this was one of the declared penalties, that both Luther and his partisans should be deprived of ecclesiastical burial. See Waddington, p. 717; D’Aubigné, i. 355; Foxe, v. 677.

(c) The mutual congratulations of those who had put them to death; their exultation over them; and the expression of their joy by the interchange of presents: “And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them,” &c., ver. 10. The language here used is expressive of general joy and rejoicing, and there can be no doubt that such joy and rejoicing occurred at Rome whenever a new victory was obtained over those who were regarded as heretics. Pareus remarks on the passage in Luke xv. 32, “It was meet that we should make merry,” &c., that “when heretics are burnt, Papists play at frolicsome games, celebrate feasts and banquets, sing Te Deum laudamus, and wish one another joy.” And so too Bullinger, in loco. But there was special rejoicing, which accorded entirely with the prediction here, at the close of the sessions of the Lateran council A.D. 1517, in the splendour of the dinners and fêtes given by the cardinals. The scene on the closing of the council is thus described by Dean Waddington: “The pillars of the Papal strength seemed visible and palpable; and Rome surveyed them with exultation from her golden palaces. The assembled princes and prelates separated from the council with complacency, confidence, and mutual congratulations on the peace, unity, and purity of the church.” Still, while this was true of that particular council, it should be added that the language here used is general, and may be regarded as descriptive of the usual joy which would be felt, and which was felt at Rome, in view of the efforts made to suppress heresy in the church.

(d) The time during which the witnesses would remain “dead.” This, it is said (ver. 9), would be for “three days and an half,” during which time they would “not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves;” that is, there would be a course of conduct, and a state of things, as if the dead were left unburied. This time, as we have seen (Notes on ver. 9), means probably three years and a half; and in the application of this we are to look for some striking event relating to the “witnesses,” when they should have “finished their testimony,” or when they had fully borne their testimony, that would fully correspond with this. Now it happens that there was a point of time, just previous to the Reformation, when it was supposed that a complete victory was gained for ever over those who were regarded as “heretics,” but who were in fact the true witnesses for Christ. That point of time was during the session of the council of Lateran, which was assembled A.D. 1513, and which continued its sessions to May 16, 1517. In the ninth session of this council a remarkable proclamation was made, indicating that all opposition to the Papal power had now ceased. The scene is thus described by Mr. Elliott (ii. 396, 397): “The orator of the session ascended the pulpit; and, amidst the applause of the assembled council, uttered that memorable exclamation of triumph—an exclamation which, notwithstanding the long multiplied anti-heretical decrees of popes and councils, notwithstanding the yet more multiplied anti-heretical crusades and inquisitorial fires, was never, I believe, pronounced before, and certainly never since—‘Jam nemo reclamat, nullus obsistit’—‘There is an end of resistance to the Papal rule and religion; opposers there exist no more:’ and again, ‘The whole body of Christendom is now seen to be subjected to its Head, i.e. to Thee.’” This occurred May 5, 1514. It is, probably, from this “time” that the three days and a half, or the three years and a half, during which the “dead bodies of the witnesses remained unburied,” and were exposed to public gaze and derision, are to be reckoned.

But it was with remarkable accuracy that a period of three years and a half occurred from the time when this proclamation was made, and when it was supposed that these “witnesses” were “dead,” to the time when the voice of living witnesses for the truth was heard again, as if those witnesses that had been silenced had come to life again; and “not in the compass of the whole ecclesiastical history of Christendom, except in the case of the death and resurrection of Christ himself, is there any such example of the sudden, mighty, and triumphant resuscitation of his church from a state of deep depression, as was, just after the separation of the Lateran council, exhibited in the protesting voice of Luther, and the glorious Reformation.” All accounts agree in placing the beginning of the Reformation in A.D. 1517. See Bowers’ History of the Popes, iii. 295; Murdock’s Mosheim, iii. 11, note. The effect of this, as compared with the supposed suppression of heresy, or the death of the witnesses, and as an illustration of the passage before us, will be seen from the following language of a writer in the Encyclopædia Britannica:—“Everything was quiet; every heretic exterminated; and the whole Christian world supinely acquiescing in the enormous absurdities inculcated in the Romish church, when, in 1517, the empire of superstition received its first attack from Luther.” Or, in the language of Mr. Cunninghame, “At the commencement of the sixteenth century, Europe reposed in the deep sleep of spiritual death, under the iron yoke of the Papacy. There was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped: when suddenly in one of the universities of Germany the voice of an obscure monk was heard, the sound of which rapidly filled Saxony, Germany, and Europe itself, shaking the very foundations of the Papal power, and arousing men from the lethargy of ages.”

The remarkable coincidence in regard to time—supposing that three years and a half are intended—will be seen from the following statement. The day of the ninth session of the Lateran council, when the proclamation above referred to was made, was, as we have seen, May 5, 1514; the day of Luther’s posting up his theses at Wittemberg (the well-known epoch of the beginning of the Reformation), was October 31, 1517. “Now, from May 5, 1514, to May 5, 1517, are three years; and from May 5, 1517, to October 31 of the same year, 1517, the reckoning in days is as follows:—

in all 180, or half of 360 days, that is, half a year; so that the whole interval is precisely, to a day, three and a half years” (Elliott, ii. 402, 403). But, without insisting on this very minute accuracy, anyone can see, and all must be prepared to admit, that, on the supposition that it was intended by the Spirit of God to refer to these events, this is the language which would be used; or, in other words, nothing would better represent this state of things than the declaration that the witnesses would be “slain,” and would be suffered to “remain unburied” during this period of time, and that at the end of this period, a public testimony would be borne again for the truth, and against the abominations of the Papacy, as if “the Spirit of life from God should again enter into them, and they should stand upon their feet,” ver. 11.

IV. The resurrection of the witnesses, ver. 11. Little need be added on this point, after what has been said on the previous portions of the chapter. We have seen (Notes on ver. 11) that this must mean that a state of things would occur which would be well represented by their being restored to life again; and if the previous illustrations are correct, there will be little difficulty in admitting that this had its fulfilment in the commencement of the Reformation. As to the time when they would revive, we have seen above how remarkably this accords with the commencement of the Reformation in 1517; and as to the correspondence of this with what is here symbolized, nothing would better represent this than to describe the witnesses as coming to life again. It was as if “the Spirit of life from God entered into” those who had been slain, and “they stood upon their feet” again, and again bore their solemn testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus. For (a) it was the same kind of testimony—testimony to the same truths, and against the same evils—which had been borne by the long array of the confessors and martyrs that had been put to death. The truths proclaimed by the Reformers on the great doctrines of grace were the same which had been professed by the Waldenses, by Wycliffe, by John Huss, and others; and the abominations of image-worship, of the invocations of the saints, of the arrogant claims of the pope, of the doctrine of human merit in justification, of the corruptions of the monastic systems, of the celibacy of the clergy, of the doctrine of purgatory, against which they testified, were the same. (b) That testimony was borne by men of the same spirit and character. In what would now be called personal religious experience there was the closest resemblance between the Waldenses and the other “witnesses” before the Reformation, and the Reformers themselves—between the piety of Huss, Jerome of Prague, Wycliffe, and Peter Waldo; and Luther, Melancthon, Zuingle, Calvin, Bucer, Latimer, Ridley, and Knox. They were men who belonged to the same spiritual communion, and who had been moulded and fashioned in their spiritual character by the same power from on high. (c) The testimony was borne with the same fearlessness, and in the midst of the same kind of persecution and opposition. All that occurred was as if the same “witnesses” had been restored to life and again lifted up their voice in the cause for which they had been persecuted and slain. The propriety of this language, as applied to these events, may be further seen from expressions used by the “witnesses” themselves, or by the persecuted friends of the truth. “And I,” said John Huss, speaking of the gospel-preachers who should appear after he had suffered at the stake, “and I, awaking as it were from the dead, and rising from the grave, shall rejoice with exceeding great joy.” Again, in 1523, after the Reformation had broken out, we find Pope Hadrian saying, in a missive addressed to the Diet at Nuremberg, “The heretics Huss and Jerome are now alive again in the person of Martin Luther” (The Seventh Vial, p. 190).

V. The ascension of the witnesses, ver. 12: “And they ascended to heaven in a cloud.” We have seen (Notes on this verse) that this means that events would take place as if they should ascend in triumph to heaven, or which should be properly symbolized by such an ascent to heaven. All that is here represented would be fulfilled by a triumph of the truth under the testimony of the witnesses, or by its becoming gloriously established in view of the nations of the earth, as if the witnesses ascended publicly and were received to the presence of God in heaven. All this was fulfilled in the various influences that served to establish and confirm the Reformation, and to introduce the great principles of religious freedom, giving to that work ultimate triumph, and showing that it had the favour of God. This would embrace the whole series of events after the Reformation was begun, by which its triumph was secure, or by which that state of things was gradually introduced which now exists, in which the true religion is free from persecution, in which it is advancing into so many parts of the world where the Papacy once had the control, and in which, with so little molestation, and with such an onward march toward ultimate victory, it is extending its conquests over the earth. The triumphant ascent of the witnesses to heaven, and the public proof of the divine favour thus shown to them, would be an appropriate symbol of this.

VI. The consequences of the resurrection, ascension, and triumph of the witnesses, ver. 13. These are said to be, that there would be “in the same hour a great earthquake; that a tenth part of the city would fall; that seven thousand would be slain, and that the remainder would be affrighted and would give glory to the God of heaven.”

(a) The earthquake. This, as we have seen (Notes on ver. 13), denotes that there would be a shock or a convulsion in the world, so that the powers of the earth would be shaken, as cities, trees, and hills are in the shocks of an earthquake. There can be little difficulty in applying this to the shock produced throughout Europe by the boldness of Luther and his fellow-labourers in the Reformation. No events have ever taken place in history that would be better compared with the shock of an earthquake than those which occurred when the long-established governments of Europe, and especially the domination of the Papacy, so long consolidated and confirmed, were shaken by the Reformation. In the suddenness of the attack made on the existing state of things, in the commotions which were produced, in the overthrow of so many governments, there was a striking resemblance to the convulsions caused by an earthquake. So Dr. Lingard speaks of the Reformation: “That religious revolution which astonished and convulsed the nations of Europe.” Nothing would better represent the convulsions caused in Germany, Switzerland, Prussia, Saxony, Sweden, Denmark, and England by the Reformation than an earthquake.

(b) The fate of a part of the city: “And the tenth part of the city fell.” That is, as we have seen (Notes on ver. 13), of that which is represented by the city, to wit, the Roman power. The fall of a “tenth part” would denote the fall of a considerable portion of that power; as if, in an earthquake, a tenth part of a city should be demolished. This would well represent what occurred in the Reformation, when so considerable a portion of the colossal Papal power suddenly fell away, and the immediate effect on the portions of Europe where the Reformation prevailed, as compared with the whole of that power, might well be represented by the fall of the tenth part of a city. It is true that a much larger proportion ultimately fell off from Rome, so that now the number of Romanists and Protestants is not far from being equal; but in the first convulsion—in what passed before the eye in vision as represented by the earthquake—that proportion would not be improperly represented by the tenth part of a city. The idea is, that the sudden destruction of a tenth part of a great city by an earthquake would well represent the convulsion at the breaking out of the Reformation, by which a considerable portion of the Papal power would fall.

(c) Those who were slain, ver. 13: “And in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.” That is, as we have seen (Notes on ver. 13), a calamity would occur to this vast Papal power, as if this number should be killed in the earthquake, or which would be well represented by that. In other words, a portion of those who were represented by the city would be slain, which, compared with the whole number, would bear about the same proportion which seven thousand would to the usual dwellers in such a city. As the numbers in the city are not mentioned, it is impossible to form any exact estimate of the numbers that would be slain on this supposition. But if we suppose that the city contained a hundred thousand, then the proportion would be something like a fourteenth part; but if it were half a million, then it would be about a seventieth part; if it were a million, then it would be about a hundred and forty-fifth part; and, as we may suppose that John, in these visions, had his eye on Rome as it was in the age in which he lived, we may, if we can ascertain what the size of Rome was at that period, take that estimate as the basis of the interpretation. Mr. Gibbon (ii. 251, 252) has endeavoured to form an estimate of the probable number of the inhabitants of ancient Rome; and, after enumerating all the circumstances which throw any light on the subject, says: “If we adopt the same average which, under similar circumstances, has been found applicable to Paris, and indifferently allow about twenty-five persons for each house, of every degree, we may fairly estimate the inhabitants of Rome at twelve hundred thousand.” Allowing this to be the number of the inhabitants of the city, then the number here specified that was slain—seven thousand—would be about the one hundred and seventieth part, or one in one hundred and seventy. This would, according to the purport of the vision here, represent the number that would perish in the convulsion denoted by the earthquake—a number which, though it would be large in the aggregate, is not probably too large in fact as referring to the number of persons that perished in Papal Europe in the wars that were consequent on the Reformation.

(d) The only other circumstance in this representation is, that “the remnant were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven,” ver. 13. That is, as we have seen (Notes on ver. 13), fear and consternation came upon them, and they stood in awe at what was occurring, and acknowledged the power of God in the changes that took place. How well this was fulfilled in what occurred in the Reformation, it is hardly necessary to state. The events which then took place had every mark of being under the divine hand, and were such as to fill the minds of men with awe and to teach them to recognize the hand of God. The power which tore asunder that immense ecclesiastical establishment, that had so long held the whole of Europe in servitude; which dissolved the charm which had so long held kings, and princes, and people spell-bound; which rent away for ever so large a portion of the Papal dominions; which led kings to separate themselves from the control to which they had been so long subjected, and which emancipated the human mind, and diffused abroad the great principles of civil and religious liberty, was well adapted to fill the mind with awe, and to lead men to recognize the hand and the agency of God; and if it be admitted that the Holy Spirit in this passage meant to refer to these events, it cannot be doubted that the language here used is such as is well adapted to describe the effects produced on the minds of men at large.

15 And the 359seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 360The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and 361he shall reign for ever and ever.

15. And the seventh angel sounded. See Notes on ch. viii. 2, 6, 7. This is the last of the trumpets, implying, of course, that under this the series of visions was to end, and that this was to introduce the state of things under which the affairs of the world were to be wound up. The place which this occupies in the order of time, is when the events pertaining to the colossal Roman power—the fourth kingdom of Daniel (Da. ii.‒vii.)—should have been completed, and when the reign of the saints (Da. vii. 9‒14, 27, 28) should have been introduced. This, both in Daniel and in John, is to occur when the mighty power of the Papacy shall have been overthrown at the termination of the twelve hundred and sixty years of its duration. See Notes on Da. vii. 25. In both Daniel and John the termination of that persecuting power is the commencement of the reign of the saints; the downfall of the Papacy, the introduction of the kingdom of God, and its establishment on the earth. ¶ And there were great voices in heaven. As of exultation and praise. The grand consummation had come, the period so long anticipated and desired when God should reign on the earth had arrived, and this lays the foundation for joy and thanksgiving in heaven. ¶ The kingdoms of this world. The modern editions of the New Testament (see Tittmann and Hahn) read this in the singular number—“The kingdom of this world has become,” &c. According to this reading, the meaning would be, either that the sole reign over this world had become that of the Lord Jesus; or, more probably, that the dominion over the earth had been regarded as one in the sense that Satan had reigned over it, but had now become the kingdom of God; that is, that “the kingdoms of this world are many considered in themselves; but in reference to the sway of Satan, there is only one kingdom ruled over by the ‘god of this world’” (Professor Stuart). The sense is not materially different whichever reading is adopted; though the authority is in favour of the latter (Wetstein). According to the common reading, the sense is, that all the kingdoms of the earth, being many in themselves, had been now brought under the one sceptre of Christ; according to the other, the whole world was regarded as in fact one kingdom—that of Satan—and the sceptre had now passed from his hands into those of the Saviour. ¶ The kingdoms of our Lord. Or, the kingdom of our Lord, according to the reading adopted in the previous part of the verse. The word Lord here evidently has reference to God as such—represented as the original source of authority, and as giving the kingdom to his Son. See Notes on Da. vii. 13, 14; comp. Ps. ii. 8. The word Lord—Κύριος—implies the notion of possessor, owner, sovereign, supreme ruler—and is thus properly given to God. See Mat. i. 22; v. 33; Mar. v. 19; Lu. i. 6, 28; Ac. vii. 33; He. viii. 2, 10; Ja. iv. 15, al. sæpe ¶ And of his Christ. Of his anointed; of him who is set apart as the Messiah, and consecrated to this high office. See Notes on Mat. i. 1. He is called “his Christ,” because he is set apart by him, or appointed by him to perform the work appropriate to that office on earth. Such language as that which occurs here is often employed, in which God and Christ are spoken of as, in some respects, distinct—as sustaining different offices, and performing different works. The essential meaning here is, that the kingdom of this world had now become the kingdom of God under Christ; that is, that that kingdom is administered by the Son of God. ¶ And he shall reign for ever and ever. A kingdom is commenced which shall never terminate. It is not said that this would be on the earth; but the essential idea is, that the sceptre of the world had now, after so long a time, come into his hands never more to pass away. The fuller characteristics of this reign are stated in a subsequent part of this book (ch. xx.‒xxii.). What is here stated is in accordance with all the predictions in the Bible. A time is to come when, in the proper sense of the term, God is to reign on the earth; when his kingdom is to be universal; when his laws shall be everywhere recognized as binding; when all idolatry shall come to an end; and when the understandings and the hearts of men everywhere shall bow to his authority. Comp. Ps. ii. 8; Is. ix. 7; xi. 9; xlv. 22; lx.; Da. ii. 35, 44, 45; vii. 13, 14, 27, 28; Zec. xiv. 9; Mal. i. 11; Lu. i. 33. On this whole subject, see the very ample illustrations and proofs in the Notes on Da. ii. 44, 45; vii. 13, 14, 27, 28; comp. Notes on chap. xx.‒xxii.

16 And the 362four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God.

16. And the four and twenty elders which sat, &c. See Notes on ch. iv. 4. ¶ Fell upon their faces, and worshipped God. Prostrated themselves before him—the usual form of profound adoration. See Notes on ch. v. 8‒14.

17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, 363which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and 364hast reigned.

17. Saying, We give thee thanks. We, as the representatives of the church, and as identified in our feelings with it (see Notes on ch. iv. 4), acknowledge thy goodness in thus delivering the church from all its troubles, and having conducted it through the times of fiery persecution, thus establishing it upon the earth. The language here used is an expression of their deep interest in the church, and of the fact that they felt themselves identified with it. They, as representatives of the church, would of course rejoice in its prosperity and final triumph. ¶ O Lord God Almighty. Referring to God as all-powerful, because it was by his omnipotent arm alone that this great work had been accomplished. Nothing else could have defended the church in its many trials; nothing else could have established it upon the earth. ¶ Which art, and wast, and art to come. The Eternal One, always the same. See Notes on ch. i. 8. The reference here is to the fact that God, who had thus established his church on the earth, is unchanging. In all the revolutions which occur on the earth, he always remains the same. What he was in past times he is now; what he is now he always will be. The particular idea suggested here seems to be, that he had now shown this by having caused his church to triumph; that is, he had shown that he was the same God who had early promised that it should ultimately triumph; he had carried forward his glorious purposes without modifying or abandoning them amidst all the changes that had occurred in the world; and he had thus given the assurance that he would now remain the same, and that all his purposes in regard to his church would be accomplished. The fact that God remains always unchangeably the same is the sole reason why his church is safe, or why any individual member of it is kept and saved. Comp. Mal. iii. 6. ¶ Because thou hast taken to thee thy great power. To wit, by setting up thy kingdom over all the earth. Before that it seemed as if he had relaxed that power, or had given the power to others. Satan had reigned on the earth. Disorder, anarchy, sin, rebellion, had prevailed. It seemed as if God had let the reins of government fall from his hand. Now he came forth as if to resume the dominion over the world, and to take the sceptre into his own hand, and to exert his great power in keeping the nations in subjection. The setting up of his kingdom all over the world, and causing his laws everywhere to be obeyed, will be among the highest demonstrations of divine power. Nothing can accomplish this but the power of God; when that power is exerted nothing can prevent its accomplishment. ¶ And hast reigned. Professor Stuart, “and shown thyself as king”—that is, “hast become king, or acted as a king.” The idea is, that he had now vindicated his regal power (Rob. Lex.)—that is, he had now set up his kingdom on the earth, and had truly begun to reign. One of the characteristics of the millennium—and indeed the main characteristic—will be that God will be everywhere obeyed; for when that occurs all will be consummated that properly enters into the idea of the millennial kingdom.