{"commentary":{"id":"adam-clarke","name":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","website":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Clarke","licenseUrl":"https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/","licenseNotes":null,"licenseNotice":null,"englishName":"Adam Clarke Bible Commentary","language":"eng","textDirection":"rtl","sha256":"92e28c9363c876d215e296f2fe04abb3ab7e34a2aacebdf06bd62ae79c6e3dba","availableFormats":["json"],"listOfBooksApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/books.json","listOfProfilesApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/profiles.json","numberOfBooks":57,"totalNumberOfChapters":854,"totalNumberOfVerses":13318,"totalNumberOfProfiles":0,"languageName":"English","languageEnglishName":"English"},"book":{"id":"REV","commentaryId":"adam-clarke","name":"Revelation","commonName":"Revelation","introduction":"Preface to the Revelation of St. John the Divine Among the interpreters of the Apocalypse, both in ancient and modern times, we find a vast diversity of opinions, but they may be all reduced to four principal hypotheses, or modes of interpretation: - 1. The Apocalypse contains a prophetical description of the destruction of Jerusalem, of the Jewish war, and the civil wars of the Romans. 2. It contains predictions of the persecutions of the Christians under the heathen emperors of Rome, and of the happy days of the Church under the Christian emperors, from Constantine downwards. 3. It contains prophecies concerning the tyrannical and oppressive conduct of the Roman pontiffs, the true antichrist; and foretells the final destruction of popery. 4. It is a prophetic declaration of the schism and heresies of Martin Luther, those called Reformers, and their successors; and the final destruction of the Protestant religion. The first opinion has been defended by Professor Wetstein, and other learned men on the continent. The second is the opinion of the primitive fathers in general, both Greek and Latin. The third was first broached by the Abb Joachim, who flourished in the thirteenth century, was espoused by most of the Franciscans; and has been and still is the general opinion of the Protestants. The fourth seems to have been invented by popish writers, merely by way of retaliation; and has been illustrated and defended at large by a Mr. Walmsley, (I believe), titular dean of Wells, in a work called the History of the Church, under the feigned name of Signior Pastorini. In this work he endeavors to turn every thing against Luther and the Protestants, which they interpreted of the pope and popery; and attempts to show, from a computation of the Apocalyptical numbers, that the total destruction of Protestantism in the world will take place in 1825! But this is not the first prophecy that has been invented for the sake of an event, the accomplishment of which was earnestly desired; and as a stimulus to excite general attention, and promote united exertion, when the time of the pretended prophecy was fulfilled. But 1825 is past by, and 1832 is come, and the Protestant Church is still in full vigor, while the Romish Church is fast declining. The full title of the book which I quote is the following: - \"The General History of the Christian Church, from her birth to her final triumphant state in Heaven, chiefly deduced from the Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle. By Sig. Pastorini. 'Blessed is he that readeth and heareth the words of this prophecy.' - Apocalypse, Rev 1:3. Printed in the year M.DCC.LXXI.\" 8vo. No place nor printer's name mentioned. The place where he foretells the final destruction of Protestantism is in pp. 249 and 262. The Catholic college of Maynooth, in Ireland, have lately published a new edition of this work! in which the author kindly predicts the approaching overthrow of the whole Protestant system, both in Church and state; and in the meantime gives them, most condescendingly, Abaddon or the devil for their king! Who the writer of the Apocalypse was, learned men are not agreed. This was a question, as well in ancient as in modern times. We have already seen that many have attributed it to the Apostle John; others, to a person called John the presbyter, who they say was an Ephesian, and totally different from John the apostle. And lastly, some have attributed it to Cerinthus, a contemporary of John the apostle. This hypothesis, however, seems utterly unsupportable; as there is no probability that the Christian Church would have so generally received a work which came from the hands of a man at all times reputed a very dangerous heretic; nor can the doctrines it contains ever comport with a Cerinthian creed. Whether it was written by John the apostle, John the presbyter, or some other person, is of little importance if the question of its inspiration be fully established. If written by an apostle it is canonical; and should be received, without hesitation, as a work Divinely inspired. Every apostle acted under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. John was an apostle, and consequently inspired; therefore, whatever he wrote was written by Divine inspiration. If, therefore, the authenticity of the work be established, i.e., that it was written by John the apostle, all the rest necessarily follow. As I have scarcely any opinion to give concerning this book on which I could wish any of my readers to rely, I shall not enter into any discussion relative to the author, or the meaning of his several visions and prophecies; but for general information refer to Dr. Lardner, Michaelis, and others. Various attempts have been made by learned men to fix the plan of this work; but even in this few agree. I shall produce some of the chief of these: and first, that of Wetstein, which is the most singular of the whole. He supposes the book of the Apocalypse to have been written a considerable time before the destruction of Jerusalem. The events described from the fourth chapter to the end he supposes to refer to the Jewish war, and to the civil commotions which took place in Italy while Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian were contending for the empire. These contentions and destructive wars occupied the space of about three years and a half, during which Professor Wetstein thinks the principal events took place which are recorded in this book. On these subjects he speaks particularly in his notes, at the end of which he subjoins what he calls his Ανακεφαλαιωσις, or synopsis of the whole work, which I proceed now to lay before the reader. \"This prophecy, which predicts the calamities which God should send on the enemies of the Gospel, is divided into two parts. The first is contained in the closed book; the second, in the open book. I. The first concerns the earth and the third part, i.e., Judea and the Jewish nation, II. The second concerns many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings, Rev 10:11, i.e., the Roman empire. 1. The book written within and without, and sealed with seven seals, Rev 5:1, is the bill of divorce sent from God to the Jewish nation. 2. The crowned conqueror on the white horse armed with a bow, Rev 6:2, is Artabanus, king of the Parthians, who slaughtered multitudes of the Jews in Babylon. 3. The red horse, Rev 6:4. The Sicarii and robbers in Judea, in the time of the Proconsuls Felix and Festus. 4. The black horse, Rev 6:5. The famine under Claudius. 5. The pale horse, Rev 6:8. The plague which followed the robberies and the famine. 6. The souls of those who were slain, Rev 6:9. The Christians in Judea, who were persecuted, and were now about to be avenged. 7. The great earthquake, Rev 6:12. The commotions which preceded the Jewish rebellion. 8. The servants of God from every tribe, sealed in their foreheads, Rev 7:3. The Christians taken under the protection of God, and warned by the prophets to flee immediately from the land. 9. The silence for half an hour, Rev 8:1. The short truce granted at the solicitation of King Agrippa. Then follows the rebellion itself. 1. The trees are burnt, Rev 8:7. The fields and villages, and unfortified places of Judea, which first felt the bad effects of the sedition. 2. The burning mountain cast into the sea which in consequence became blood, Rev 8:8; and, 3. The burning star falling into the rivers, and making the waters bitter, Rev 8:10, Rev 8:11. The slaughter of the Jews at Caesarea and Scythopolis. 4. The eclipsing of the sun, moon, and stars, Rev 8:12. The anarchy of the Jewish commonwealth. 5. The locusts like scorpions hurting men, Rev 9:3. The expedition of Cestius Gallus, prefect of Syria. 6. The army with arms of divers colors, Rev 9:16, Rev 9:17. The armies under Vespasian in Judea. About this time Nero and Galba died; after which followed the civil war, signified by the sounding of the seventh trumpet, Rev 10:7, Rev 10:11; Rev 11:15. 1. The two prophetic witnesses, two olive trees, two candlesticks, Rev 11:3, Rev 11:4. Teachers in the Church, predicting the destruction of the Jewish temple and commonwealth. 2. The death of the witnesses, Rev 11:7. Their flight, and the flight of the Church of Jerusalem, to Pella, in Arabia. 3. The resurrection of the witnesses, after three days and a half, Rev 11:11. The predictions began to be fulfilled at a time in which their accomplishment was deemed impossible; and the doctrine of Christ begins to prevail over Judea, and over the whole earth. 4. The tenth part of the city fell in the same hour, and seven thousand names of men slain, Rev 11:13. Jerusalem seized by the Idumeans; and many of the priests and nobles, with Annas, the high priest, signified by names of men, i.e. men of name, slain by the Zealots. 5. The woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head, Rev 12:1. The Christian Church. 6. The great red dragon seen in heaven, with seven heads, seven diadems, and ten horns, Rev 12:3. The six first Caesars, who were all made princes at Rome, governing the armies and the Roman people with great authority; especially Nero, the last of them, who, having killed his mother, cruelly vexed the Christians, and afterwards turned his wrath against the rebellious Jews. 7. The seven-headed beast from the sea, having ten horns surrounded with diadems, Rev 13:1. Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, who were shortly to reign, and who were proclaimed emperors by the army. 8. This beast, having a mouth like a lion, the body like a leopard, the feet like a bear, Rev 13:2. Avaricious Galba; rash, unchaste, and inconstant Otho; Vitellius, cruel and sluggish, with the German any. 9. One head, i.e., the seventh, cut off, Rev 13:3. Galba. 10. He who leadeth into captivity shall be led into captivity; he who killeth with the sword shall be killed with the sword, Rev 13:10. Otho, who subdued the murderers of Galba, and slew himself with a dagger, Vitellius, who bound Sabinus with chains and was himself afterwards bound. 11. Another beast rising out of the earth, with two horns, Rev 13:11. Vespasian and his two and, Titus and Domitian, elected emperors at the same time in Judea. 12. The number of the wild beast, 666, the number of a man, Teitan, Titan or Titus: T, 300. E, 5. I, 10. T, 300. A, 1. N. 50, making in the whole 666. [But some very respectable MSS. have 616 for the number; if the N be taken away from Teitan, then the letters in Teita make exactly the sum 616]. 13. A man sitting upon a cloud, unity a crown of gold upon his head, and a sickle in his hand, Rev 14:14. Otho and his army, about to prevent supplies for the army of Vitellius. 14. An angel of fire commanding another angel to gather the vintage; the winepress trodden whence the blood flows out 1600 furlongs. The followers of Vitellius laying all waste with fire; and the Bebriaci conquering the followers of Otho with great slaughter. Then follow the seven plagues: - 1. The grievous sore, Rev 16:2. The diseases of the soldiers of Vitellius through intemperance. 2. The sea turned into blood, Rev 16:3. The fleet of Vitellius beaten, and the maritime towns taken from them by the Flavii. 3. The rivers turned into blood, Rev 16:4. The slaughter of the adherents of Vitellius, at Cremona and elsewhere, near rivers. 4. The scorching of the sun, Rev 16:8. The diseases of the Vitellii increasing, and their exhausted bodies impatient of the heat. 5. The seat of the beast darkened, Rev 16:10. All Rome in commotion through the torpor of Vitellius. 6. Euphrates dried up, and a way made for the kings of the east; and the three unclean spirits like frogs. The Flavii besieging Rome with a treble army; one part of which was by the bank of the Tiber. The shame of him who is found asleep and naked. Vitellius, Rev 16:15. Armageddon, Rev 16:16. The praetorian camps. 7. The fall of Babylon, Rev 16:19. The sacking of Rome. 1. The whore, Rev 17:1. Rome. 2. The seven kings, Rev 17:10. Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, and Galba. 3. The eighth, which is of the seven, Rev 17:11. Otho, destined by adoption to be the son and successor of Galba. 4. The ten horns, Rev 17:12-16. The leaders of the Flavian factions. 5. The merchants of the earth, Rev 18:11; i.e., of Rome, which was then the emporium of the whole world. 6. The beast and the false prophet, Rev 19:20. Vespasian and his family, contrary to all expectation, becoming extinct in Domitian, as the first family of the Caesars, and of the three princes, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. 7. The millennium, or a thousand years, Rev 20:2. Taken from Psa 90:4, a time appointed by God, including the space of forty years, from the death of Domitian to the Jewish war under Adrian. 8. Gog and Magog, going out over the earth, Rev 20:8. Barchochebas, the false Messiah, with an immense army of the Jews, coming forth suddenly from their caves and dens, tormenting the Christians, and carrying on a destructive war with the Romans. 9. The New Jerusalem, Rev 21:1, Rev 21:2. The Jews being brought so low as to be capable of injuring no longer; the whole world resting after being expiated by wars; and the doctrine of Christ propagated and prevailing everywhere with incredible celerity. Wetstein contends (and he is supported by very great men among the ancients and moderns) that \"the book of the Revelation was written before the Jewish war, and the civil wars in Italy; that the important events which took place at that time, the greatest that ever happened since the foundation of the world, were worth enough of the Divine notice, as the affairs of his Church were so intimately connected with them; that his method of exposition proves the whole book to be a well-connected, certain series of events; but the common method of interpretation, founded on the hypothesis that the book was written after the destruction of Jerusalem, is utterly destitute of certainty, and leaves every commentator to the luxuriance of his own fancy, as is sufficiently evident from what has been done already on this book; some interpreters leading the reader now to Thebes, now to Athens, and finding in the words of the sacred penman Constantine the Great; Arius, Luther, Calvin; the Jesuits; the Albigenses; the Bohemians; Chemnitius; Elizabeth, queen of England; Cecil, her treasurer; and who not?\" - See Wetstein's Gr. Test., vol. ii. p. 889. Those who consider the Apocalypse as a prophecy and scenical exhibition of what shall happen to the Christian Church to the end of the world, lay this down as a proposition, which comprises the subject of the whole book: The contest of Christ with his enemies; and his final victory and triumph over them. See Co1 15:25; Matthew 24:1-51; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-38. But what is but briefly hinted in the above scriptures, is detailed at large in the Apocalypse, and represented by various images nearly in the following order: - 1. The decrees of the Divine providence, concerning what is to come, are declared to John. 2. The manner in which these decrees shall be executed is painted in the most vivid colors. 3. Then follow thanksgivings to God, the ruler and governor of all things, for these manifestations of his power, wisdom and goodness. After the exordium, and the seven epistles to the seven Churches of Asia Minor, to whose angels or bishops the book seems to be dedicated, (Revelation 1:1-3:22), the scene of the visions is opened in heaven, full of majesty; and John receives a promise of a revelation relative to the future state of the Church, Revelation 4:1-5:14. The enemies of the Church of Christ which the Christians had then most to fear were the Jews, the heathens, and the false teachers. All these are overcome by Christ, and over them he triumphs gloriously. First of all, punishments are threatened to the enemies of the kingdom of Christ, and the preservation of his own followers in their greatest trials determined; and these determinations are accompanied with the praises and thanksgivings of all the heavenly inhabitants, and of all good men, Revelation 6:1-10:11. The transactions of the Christian religion are next recorded, Revelation 11:1-14:5. The Christians are persecuted: - 1. By the Jews; but they were not only preserved, but they increase and prosper. 2. By the heathens; but in vain do these strive to overthrow the kingdom of Christ, which is no longer confined within the limits of Judea, but spreads among the Gentiles, and diffuses itself over the whole Roman empire, destroying idolatry, and rooting out superstition, in every quarter, Revelation 12:1-13:10. 3. False teachers and impostors of various kinds, under the name of Christians, but enemies of the cross of Christ, more intent on promoting the interests of idolatry or false worship than the cause of true religion, Rev 13:11-18, exert their influence to corrupt and destroy the Church; but, notwithstanding, Christianity becomes more extended, and true believers more confirmed in their holy faith, Rev 14:1-5. Then new punishments are decreed against the enemies of Christ, both Jews and heathens: the calamities coming upon the Jewish nation before its final overthrow are pointed out, Revelation 14:1-15:8. Next follows a prediction of the calamities which shall take place during the Jewish war; and the civil wars of the Romans during the contentions of Otho and Vitellius, Revelation 16:1-16, who are to suffer most grievous punishments for their cruelties against the Christians, Revelation 17:1-18. The Jewish state being now finally overthrown, Revelation 18:1-24, the heavenly inhabitants give praise to God for his justice and goodness; Christ is congratulated for his victory over his enemies, and the more extensive progress of his religion, Rev 19:1-10. Opposition is, however, not yet totally ended: idolatry again lifts up its head, and new errors are propagated; but over these also Christ shows himself to be conqueror, Rev 19:11-21. Finally, Satan, who had long reigned by the worship of false gods, errors, superstitions, and wickedness, is deprived of all power and influence; and the concerns of Christianity go on gloriously, Rev 20:1-6. But towards the end of the world new enemies arise, and threaten destruction to the followers of Christ; but in vain is their rage, God appears in behalf of his servants, and inflicts the most grievous punishments upon their adversaries, Rev 20:6-10. The last judgment ensues, Rev 20:11-15, all the wicked are punished, and the enemies of the truth are chained, so as to be able to injure the godly no more; the genuine Christians, who had persevered unto death, are brought to eternal glory; and, freed from all adversities, spend a life that shall never end, in blessedness that knows no bounds, Revelation 21:1-22:21. See Rosenmuller. Eichhorn takes a different view of the plan of this book; though in substance not differing much from that above. According to this writer the whole is represented in the form of a drama, the parts of which are the following: I. The title, Rev 1:1-3. II. The prologue, Revelation 1:4-3:22; in which it is stated that the argument of the drama refers to the Christians; epistles being sent to the Churches, which, in the symbolic style, are represented by the number seven. Next follows the drama itself, the parts of which are: - The prolusio, or prelude, Revelation 4:1-8:5; in which the scenery is prepared and adorned. Act the first, Revelation 8:6-12:17. Jerusalem is taken, and Judaism vanquished by Christianity. Act the second, Revelation 13:1-20:10. Rome is conquered, and heathenism destroyed by the Christian religion. Act the third, Revelation 20:11-22:5. The New Jerusalem descends from heaven; or the happiness of the life to come, and which is to endure for ever, is particularly described, Rev 22:6-11. Taken in this sense, Eichhorn supposes the work to be most exquisitely finished, and its author to have had a truly poetic mind, polished by the highest cultivation; to have been accurately acquainted with the history of all times and nations, and to have enriched himself with their choicest spoils. My readers will naturally expect that I should either give a decided preference to some one of the opinions stated above, or produce one of my own; I can do neither, nor can I pretend to explain the book: I do not understand it; and in the things which concern so sublime and awful a subject, I dare not, as my predecessors, indulge in conjectures. I have read elaborate works on the subject, and each seemed right till another was examined. I am satisfied that no certain mode of interpreting the prophecies of this book has yet been found out, and I will not add another monument to the littleness or folly of the human mind by endeavoring to strike out a new course. I repeat it, I do not understand the book; and I am satisfied that not one who has written on the subject knows any thing more of it than myself. I should, perhaps, except J. E. Clarke, who has written on the number of the beast. His interpretation amounts nearly to demonstration; but that is but a small part of the difficulties of the Apocalypse: that interpretation, as the most probable ever yet offered to the public, shall be inserted in its proper place; as also his illustration of the xiith, xiiith, and xviith chapters. As to other matters, I must leave them to God, or to those events which shall point out the prophecy; and then, and probably not till then, will the sense of these visions be explained. A conjecture concerning the design of the book may be safely indulged; thus then it has struck me, that the book of the Apocalypse may be considered as a Prophet continued in the Church of God, uttering predictions relative to all times, which have their successive fulfillment as ages roll on; and thus it stands in the Christian Church in the place of the Succession of Prophets in the Jewish Church; and by this especial economy Prophecy is Still Continued, is Always Speaking; and yet a succession of prophets rendered unnecessary. If this be so, we cannot too much admire the wisdom of the contrivance which still continues the voice and testimony of prophecy, by means of a very short book, without the assistance of any extraordinary messenger, or any succession of such messengers, whose testimony would at all times be liable to suspicion, and be the subject of infidel and malevolent criticism, howsoever unexceptionable to ingenuous minds the credentials of such might appear. On this ground it is reasonable to suppose that several prophecies contained in this book have been already fulfilled, and that therefore it is the business of the commentator to point such out. It may be so; but as it is impossible for me to prove that my conjecture is right, I dare not enter into proceedings upon it, and must refer to Bishop Newton, and such writers as have made this their particular study. After having lived in one of the most eventful eras of the world; after having seen a number of able pens employed in the illustration of this and other prophecies; after having carefully attended to those facts which were supposed to be the incontestable proofs of the fulfillment of such and such visions, seals, trumpets, thunders, and vials of the Apocalypse; after seeing the issue of that most terrible struggle which the French nation, the French republic, the French consulate, and the French empire, have made to regain and preserve their liberties, which, like arguing in a circle, have terminated where they began, without one political or religious advantage to them or to mankind; and after viewing how the prophecies of this book were supposed to apply almost exclusively to these events, the writers and explainers of these prophecies keeping pace in their publications with the rapid succession of military operations, and confidently promising the most glorious issue, in the final destruction of superstition, despotism, arbitrary power, and tyranny of all kinds, nothing of which has been realized; I say, viewing all these things, I feel myself at perfect liberty to state that, to my apprehension, all these prophecies have been misapplied and misapprehended; and that the Key to them is not yet intrusted to the sons of men. My readers will therefore excuse me from any exposure of my ignorance or folly by attempting to do what many, with much more wisdom and learning, have attempted, and what every man to the present day has failed in, who has preceded me in expositions of this book. I have no other mountain to heap on those already piled up; and if I had, I have not strength to lift it: those who have courage may again make the trial; already we have had a sufficiency of vain efforts. Ter sunt conati imponere Pelio Ossam Scilicet, atque Ossae frondosum involvere Olympum: Ter Pater extructos disjecit fulmine montes. Virg., G. i. 281. With mountains piled on mountains thrice they strove To scale the steepy battlements of Jove; And thrice his lightning and red thunder play'd, And their demolish'd works in ruin laid. Dryden I had resolved, for a considerable time, not to meddle with this book, because I foresaw that I could produce nothing satisfactory on it: but when I reflected that the literal sense and phraseology might be made much plainer by the addition of philological and critical notes; and that, as the diction appeared in many places to be purely rabbinical, (a circumstance to which few of its expositors have attended), it might be rendered plainer by examples from the ancient Jewish writers; and that several parts of it spoke directly of the work of God in the soul of man, and of the conflicts and consolations of the followers of Christ, particularly in the beginning of the book, I changed my resolution, and have added short notes, principally philological, where I thought I understood the meaning. I had once thought of giving a catalogue of the writers and commentators on this book, and had begun a collection of this kind; but the question of Cui bono? What good end is this likely to serve? not meeting with a satisfactory answer in my own mind, caused me to throw this collection aside. I shall notice two only. 1. The curious and learned work entitled, \"A plaine Discovery of the whole Revelation of St. John,\" written by Sir John Napier, inventor of the logarithms, I have particularly described in the general preface to the Holy Scriptures, prefixed to the Book of Genesis, to which the reader is requested to refer. 2. Another work, not less singular, and very rare, entitled, \"The Image of both Churches, after the most wonderful and heavenly Revelation of Sainct John the Evangelist, containing a very fruitfull exposition or paraphrase upon the same: wherein it is conferred with the other scriptures, and most auctorised histories Compyled by John Bale, an exyle also in thys lyfe for the faithful testimony of Jesu.\" Printed at London by Thomas East, 18mo., without date. The author was at first a Carmelite, but was afterwards converted to the Protestant religion. He has turned the whole of the Apocalypse against the Romish Church; and it is truly astonishing to see with what address he directs every image, metaphor, and description, contained in this book, against the corruptions of this Church. He was made bishop of Ossory, in Ireland; but was so persecuted by the papists that he narrowly escaped with his life, five of his domestics being murdered by them. On the accession of Mary he was obliged to take refuge in the Low Countries, where it appears he compiled this work. As he was bred up a papist, and was also a priest, he possessed many advantages in attacking the strongest holds of his adversaries. He knew all their secrets, and he uncovered the whole; he was acquainted with all their rites, ceremonies, and superstitions, and finds all distinctly marked in the Apocalypse, which he believes was written to point out the abominations, and to foretell the final destruction of this corrupt and intolerant Church. I shall make a few references to his work in the course of the following notes. In Rev 17:1, the author shows his opinion, and speaks something of himself: Come hither, I will show thee the judgment of the great whore, etc. \"Come hither, friende John, I will show thee in secretnesse the tirrible judgement of the great whore, or counterfaite Church of hypocrites. Needs must this whore be Rome, for that she is the great citie which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Evident it is both by Scriptures and Cronicles that in John's dayes Rome had dominion over all the whole world: and being infected with the abominations of all landes, rightly is shee called Babylon. or Citie of Confusion. And like as in the Scriptures ofte tymes under the name of Jerusalem is ment the whole kingdom of Juda, so under the name of Rome here may be understanded the unyversall worlde, with all their abominations and divilleshnesses, their idolatryes, witchcraftes, sectes, superstitions, papacyes, priesthoodes, relygions, shavings, anointings, blessings, sensings, processions, and the divil of all such beggeryes. For all the people since Christes assencion, hath this Rome infected with hir pestilent poisons gathered from all idolatrous nations, such time as she held over them the monarchial suppremit. At the wryting of this prophecy felt John of their cruiltie, being exiled into Pathmos for the faithfull testimony of Jesu. And so did I, poore creature, with my poore wife and children, at the gatheringe of this present commentary, flying into Germanye for the same,\" etc. Shall I have the reader's pardon if I say that it is my firm opinion that the expositions of this book have done great disservice to religion: almost every commentator has become a prophet; for as soon as he began to explain he began also to prophesy. And what has been the issue? Disappointment laughed at hope's career, and superficial thinkers have been led to despise and reject prophecy itself. I shall sum up all that I wish to say farther in the words of Graserus: Mihi tota Apocalypsis valde obscura videtur; et talis, cujus explicatio citra periculum vix queat tentari. Fateor me hactenus in nullius Scripti Biblici lectione minus vroficere, quam in hoc obscurissimo Vaticinio.","order":66,"numberOfChapters":22,"sha256":"79ed6b49114135649edeb522a70bbdc9af86a1f6954f65896713538d0d0a7f70","firstChapterNumber":1,"firstChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/REV/1.json","firstChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"REV","chapter":1},"lastChapterNumber":22,"lastChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/REV/22.json","lastChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"REV","chapter":22},"totalNumberOfVerses":392},"chapter":{"number":20,"content":[{"type":"verse","number":1,"content":["An angel came down from heaven - One of the executors of the Divine justice, who receives criminals, and keeps them in prison, and delivers them up only to be tried and executed.\nThe key of the prison and the chain show who he is; and as the chain was great, it shows that the culprit was impeached of no ordinary crimes. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":2,"content":["The dragon - See the notes on Rev 12:9.\nThat old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan - He who is called the old serpent is the Devil - the calumniator, and Satan - the opposer. He who supposes that the term old serpent here plainly proves that the creature that tempted our first parents was actually a snake, must enjoy his opinion; and those who can receive such a saying, why let them receive it. Selah.\nA thousand years - In what this binding of Satan consists, who can tell? How many visions have been seen on this subject both in ancient and modern times! This, and what is said Rev 20:3-5, no doubt refers to a time in which the influence of Satan will be greatly restrained, and the true Church of God enjoy great prosperity, which shall endure for a long time. But it is not likely that the number, a thousand years, is to be taken literally here, and year symbolically and figuratively in all the book beside. The doctrine of the millennium, or of the saints reigning on earth a thousand years, with Christ for their head, has been illustrated and defended by many Christian writers, both among the ancients and moderns. Were I to give a collection of the conceits of the primitive fathers on this subject, my readers would have little reason to applaud my pains. It has long been the idle expectation of many persons that the millennium, in their sense, was at hand; and its commencement has been expected in every century since the Christian era. It has been fixed for several different years, during the short period of my own life! I believed those predictions to be vain, and I have lived to see them such. Yet there is no doubt that the earth is in a state of progressive moral improvement; and that the light of true religion is shining more copiously everywhere, and will shine more and more to the perfect day. But when the religion of Christ will be at its meridian of light and heat, we know not. In each believer this may speedily take place; but probably no such time shall ever appear, in which evil shall be wholly banished from the earth, till after the day of judgment, when the earth having been burnt up, a new heaven and a new earth shall be produced out of the ruins of the old, by the mighty power of God: righteousness alone shall dwell in them. The phraseology of the apostle here seems partly taken from the ancient prophets, and partly rabbinical; and it is from the Jewish use of those terms that we are to look for their interpretation. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":3,"content":["He should deceive the nations no more - Be unable to blind men with superstition and idolatry as he had formerly done. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":4,"content":["I saw thrones - Christianity established in the earth, the kings and governors being all Christians.\nReigned with Christ a thousand years - I am satisfied that this period should not be taken literally. It may signify that there shall be a long and undisturbed state of Christianity; and so universally shall the Gospel spirit prevail, that it will appear as if Christ reigned upon earth; which will in effect be the case, because his Spirit shall rule in the hearts of men; and in this time the martyrs are represented as living again; their testimony being revived, and the truth for which they died, and which was confirmed by their blood, being now everywhere prevalent. As to the term thousand years, it is a mystic number among the Jews. Midrash Tillin, in Psa 90:15, Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, adds, \"by Babylon, Greece, and the Romans; and in the days of the Messiah. How many are the days of the Messiah? Rab. Elieser, the son of R. Jose, of Galilee, said, The days of the Messiah are a thousand years.\"\nSanhedrin, fol. 92, 1, cited by the Aruch, under the word אירק says: \"There is a tradition in the house of Elias, that the righteous, whom the holy blessed God shall raise from the dead, shall not return again to the dust; but for the space of a thousand years, in which the holy blessed God shall renew the world, they shall have wings like the wings of eagles, and shall fly above the waters.\" It appears therefore that this phraseology is purely rabbinical. Both the Greeks and Latins have the same form of speech in speaking on the state of the righteous and wicked after death. There is something like this in the Republic of Plato, book x., p. 322, edit. Bip., where, speaking of Erus, the son of Armenius, who came to life after having been dead twelve days, and who described the states of departed souls, asserting \"that some were obliged to make a long peregrination under the earth before they arose to a state of happiness, ειναι δε την πορειαν χιλιετη, for it was a journey of a thousand years,\" he adds, \"that, as the life of man is rated at a hundred years, those who have been wicked suffer in the other world a ten-fold punishment, and therefore their punishment lasts a thousand years.\"\nA similar doctrine prevailed among the Romans; whether they borrowed it from the Greeks, or from the rabbinical Jews, we cannot tell.\nThus Virgil, speaking of the punishment of the wicked in the infernal regions, says: - \nHas omnes, ubi Mille rotam volvere per annos,\nLethaeum ad fluvium Deus evocat agmine magno:\nScilicet immemores supera ut convexa revisant,\nRursus et incipiant in corpora velle reverti.\nAen., lib. vi., 748.\n\"But when a thousand rolling years are past,\nSo long their dreary punishment shall last,\nWhole droves of spirits, by the driving god,\nAre led to drink the deep Lethean flood\nIn large, forgetful draughts, to sleep the cares\nOf their past labors and their irksome years;\nThat, unremembering of its former pain,\nThe soul may clothe itself with flesh again.\"\nHow the apostle applies this general tradition, or in what sense he may use it, who can tell? \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":5,"content":["The rest of the dead lived not again - It is generally supposed from these passages that all who have been martyred for the truth of God shall be raised a thousand years before the other dead, and reign on earth with Christ during that time, after which the dead in general shall be raised; but this also is very doubtful. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":6,"content":["Blessed - Μακαριος· Happy. And holy; he was holy, and therefore he suffered for the testimony of Jesus in the time when nothing but holiness was called to such a trial.\nThe first resurrection - Supposed to be that of the martyrs, mentioned above.\nThe second death - Punishment in the eternal world; such is the acceptation of the phrase among the ancient Jews.\nHath no power - Ουκ εχει εξουσιαν· Hath no authority - no dominion over him. This is also a rabbinical mode of speech. In Erubin, fol. 19, 1; Chagiga, fol. 27, 1: \"Res Lakish said, The fire of hell hath no power over an Israelite who sins. Rab. Elieser says; The fire of hell hath no power over the disciples of the wise men.\" \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":7,"content":["Satan shall be loosed - How can this bear any kind of literal interpretation? Satan is bound a thousand years, and the earth is in peace; righteousness flourishes, and Jesus Christ alone reigns. This state of things may continue for ever if the imprisonment of Satan be continued. Satan, however, is loosed at the end of the thousand years, and goes out and deceives the nations, and peace is banished from the face of the earth, and a most dreadful war takes place, etc., etc. These can be only symbolical representations, utterly incapable of the sense generally put upon them. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":8,"content":["Gog and Magog - This seems to be almost literally taken from the Jerusalem Targum, and that of Jonathan ben Uzziel, on Num 11:26. I shall give the words at length: \"And there were two men left in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, the name of the other was Medad, and on them the spirit of prophecy rested. Eldad prophesied and said, 'Behold, Moses the prophet, the scribe of Israel, shall be taken from this world; and Joshua the son of Nun, captain of the host, shall succeed him.' Medad prophesied and said, 'Behold quails shall arise out of the sea, and be a stumbling block to Israel.' Then they both prophesied together, and said, 'In the very end of time Gog and Magog and their army shall come up against Jerusalem, and they shall fall by the hand of the King Messiah; and for seven whole years shall the children of Israel light their fires with the wood of their warlike engines, and they shall not go to the wood nor cut down any tree.'\" In the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, on the same place, the same account is given; only the latter part, that is, the conjoint prophecy of Eldad and Medad, is given more circumstantially, thus: \"And they both prophesied together, and said, 'Behold, a king shall come up from the land of Magog in the last days, and shall gather the kings together, and leaders clothed with armor, and all people shall obey them; and they shall wage war in the land of Israel against the children of the captivity, but the hour of lamentation has been long prepared for them, for they shall be slain by the flame of fire which shall proceed from under the throne of glory, and their dead carcasses shall fall on the mountains of the land of Israel; and all the wild beasts of the field, and the wild fowl of heaven, shall come and devour their carcasses; and afterwards all the dead of Israel shall rise again to life, and shall enjoy the delights prepared for them from the beginning, and shall receive the reward of their worlds.'\"\nThis account seems most evidently to have been copied by St. John, but how he intended it to be applied is a question too difficult to be solved by the skill of man; yet both the account in the rabbins and in St. John is founded on Ezekiel, Ezekiel 38:1-39:29. The rabbinical writings are full of accounts concerning Gog and Magog, of which Wetstein has made a pretty large collection in his notes on this place. Under these names the enemies of God's truth are generally intended. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":9,"content":["The beloved city - Primarily, Jerusalem, typically, the Christian Church. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":10,"content":["And the devil - was cast onto the lake - Before Satan was bound, that is, his power was curtailed and restrained; now, he is cast into the lake of fire, his power being totally taken away. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":11,"content":["A great white throne - Refulgent with glorious majesty.\nHim that sat on it - The indescribable Jehovah.\nFrom whose face the earth and the heaven fled away - Even the brightness of his countenance dissolved the universe, and annihilated the laws by which it was governed. This is a very majestic figure, and finely expressed.\nThere was found no place for them - The glorious majesty of God filling all things, and being all in all. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":12,"content":["The dead, small and great - All ranks, degrees, and conditions of men. This description seems to refer to Dan 7:9, Dan 7:10.\nAnd the books were opened - See Dan 12:1. \"Rab. Jehuda said: All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are written in a book, and of all they shall give account.\" - Sohar Gen., fol. 79, col. 298. \"How careful should men be to shun vice, and to act uprightly before the holy blessed God, seeing there are so many which go throughout the earth, see the works of men, testify of them, and write them in a book!\" - Ibid., fol. 105, col. 417.\n\"In the first day of the new year the holy blessed God sits that he may judge the world; and all men, without exception, give an account of themselves; and the books of the living and the dead are opened.\"\nSohar Chadash, fol. 19, 1.\nThe books mentioned here were the books of the living and the dead, or the book of life and the book of death: that is, the account of the good and evil actions of men; the former leading to life, the latter to death. St. John evidently alludes here to Dan 7:10, on which the rabbinical account of the books appears to be founded. The expressions are figurative in both.\nAccording to their works - And according to their faith also, for their works would be the proof whether their faith were true or false; but faith exclusively could be no rule in such a procedure. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":13,"content":["The sea gave up the dead - Those who had been drowned in it, and those millions slain in naval contests, who had no other grave.\nAnd death - All who died by any kind of disease. Death is here personified, and represented as a keeper of defunct human beings; probably no more than earth or the grave is meant, as properly belonging to the empire of death.\nAnd hell - Ἁιδης, Hades, the place of separate spirits. The sea and death have the bodies of all human beings; hades has their spirits. That they may be judged, and punished or rewarded according to their works, their bodies and souls must be reunited; hades, therefore, gives up the spirits; and the sea and the earth give up the bodies. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":14,"content":["And death and hell were cast into the lake - Death himself is now abolished, and the place for separate spirits no longer needful. All dead bodies and separated souls being rejoined, and no more separation of bodies and souls by death to take place, consequently the existence of these things is no farther necessary.\nThis is the second death - The first death consisted in the separation of the soul from the body for a season; the second death in the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection; the second death is that from which there can be no recovery. By the first the body is destroyed during time; by the second, body and soul are destroyed through eternity. \n"]},{"type":"verse","number":15,"content":["Written in the book of life - Only those who had continued faithful unto death were taken to heaven. All whose names were not found in the public registers, who either were not citizens, or whose names had been erased from those registers because of crimes against the state, could claim none of those emoluments or privileges which belong to the citizens; so those who either did not belong to the new and spiritual Jerusalem, or who had forfeited their rights and privileges by sin, and had died in that state, were cast into the lake of fire.\nThis is the way in which God, at the day of judgment, will proceed with sinners and apostates. Reader, see that thy name be written in the sacred register; and, if written in, see that it never be blotted out.\n\n"]}],"introduction":"An angel binds Satan a thousand years, and shuts him up in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:1-3. They who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, who have part in the first resurrection, and shall reign with Christ a thousand years, Rev 20:4-6. When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, shall go forth and deceive the nations, and shall gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the earth, Rev 20:7, Rev 20:8. These shall besiege the holy city; but fire shall come down from heaven and consume them, and they and the devil be cast into a lake of fire, Rev 20:9, Rev 20:10. The great white throne, and the dead, small and great, standing before God, and all judged according to their works, Rev 20:11, Rev 20:12. The sea, death, and hades, give up their dead, and are destroyed; and all not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, Rev 20:13-15. \n"},"thisChapterLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/REV/20.json","thisChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"REV","chapter":20},"nextChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/REV/21.json","nextChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"REV","chapter":21},"previousChapterApiLink":"/api/c/adam-clarke/REV/19.json","previousChapterReference":{"commentaryId":"adam-clarke","book":"REV","chapter":19},"numberOfVerses":15}