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banquet with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds without water, driven about of winds; trees without leaves, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the 13 roots: Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom is reserved the black14 ness of darkness for ever. And of these also, Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the 15 Lord cometh with ten thousands of his holy ones, To execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds, which they have impiously committed; and of all the grievous things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

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These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own desires, and their mouth speaketh great swelling things, having men's persons in admiration for the sake of 17 gain. But ye, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 For they told you, In the last time there will be mockers, walking after their own ungodly desires.

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These are they who separate themselves, sensual, not

God, or jealousy over themselves, twice dead-In sin, first by nature and afterwards by apostasy, plucked up by the roots-And so incapable of ever reviving,

V. 13. Wandering stars-Literally, planets, which shine for a time, but have no light in themselves. Thus the apostle illustrates their desperate wickedness, by comparisons drawn from the air, earth, sea, and heavens.

V. 14. And of these also-As well as the antediluvian sinners, Enoch-So early was the prophecy, referred to, ver. 4, the seventh from Adam-There were only five of the fathers between Adam and Enoch, 1 Chron. i. 1. The first coming of Christ was revealed to Adam; his second glorious coming to Enoch: and the seventh from Adam foretold the things which will conclude the seventh age of the world. St. Jude might know this, either from some ancient book, or tradition, or immediate revelation. Behold As if it were already done, the Lord cometh!

V. 15. To execute judgment-Enoch herein looked beyond the flood, upen all-Sinners in general, and to convict all the ungodly-In particular, of all the grievous things which ungodly sinners (a sinner is bad; but the ungodly, who sin without fear, are worse,) have spoken against him, ver. 8, 10, though they might not think all those speeches were against him.

V. 16. These are murmurers Against men, complainers (Literally, complainers of their fate,) against God, walking-With regard to themselves, after their own foolish and mischievous desires, having men's persons in admiration for the sake of gain-Admiring and commending them only for what they can get.

V. 17. By the apostles-He does not exempt himself from the number of apostles: for in the next verse he says, they told you, not us.

V. 19. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, not having the Spirit Having natural senses and understanding only, not the Spirit of God: otherwise they could not separate. For that it is a sin, and a very heinous one, ta separate from the church, is out of all question. But then it should be observed, 1. That by the church is meant, a body of living Christians, who are a habi. tation of God through the Spirit: 2. That by separating is understood,

20 having the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying through the Holy 21 Spirit, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for

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the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 22 And some, that are wavering, convince: Some save, 23 snatching them out of the fire: on others have compassion with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

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Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory 25 with exceeding joy, To the only God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, might and authority, both now and to all ages. Amen.

renouncing all religious intercourse with them; no longer joining with them in solemn prayer, or the other public offices of religion: And, 3. That we have no more authority from Scripture, to call even this schism, than to call it murder.

V. 20. But ye, beloved Not separating, but building yourselves up in your most holy faith-Than which none can be more holy in itself, or more conducive to the most refined and exalted holiness: praying through the Holy Spirit-Who alone is able to build you up, as he alone laid the foundation. In this and the following verse, St. Jude mentions the Father, Son, and Spirit, together with faith, love, and hope.

V. 21. By these means, through his grace, keep yourselves in the love of God, and in the confident expectation of that eternal life, which is purchased for you, and conferred upon you, through the mere mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

V. 23. Mean time watch over others, as well as yourselves, and give them such help as their various needs require. For instance, 1. Some, that are wavering in judgment, staggered by others, or by their own evil reasoning, endeavour more deeply to convince of the whole truth as it is in Jesus. 2. Some snatch, with a swift and strong hand, out of the fire of sin and temptation. 3. On others shew compassion in a milder and gentler way; though still with a jealous fear, lest yourselves he infected with the disease you endeavour to cure. See, therefore, that while you love the sinners, ye retain the utmost abhorrence of their sins, and of any, the least degree of, or approach to them.

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V. 24. Now to him who alone is able to keep you from falling—Into any of these errors or sins, and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory→ That is, in his own presence, when he shall be revealed in all his glory.

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IT is scarce possible for any, that either love or fear God, not to feel their hearts extremely affected, in seriously reading either the beginning or the latter part of the Revelation. These, it is evident, we cannot consider too much: but the intermediate parts I did not study at all for many years, as utterly despairing of understanding them, after the fruitless attempts of so many wise and good men; and perhaps I should have lived and died in this sentiment; had not seen the works of the great Bengelius. But these revived my hopes of understanding, even the prophecies of this book: at least, many of them, in some good degree; for perhaps some will not be opened but in eternity. Let us, however, bless God for the measure of light we may enjoy, and improve it to his glory.

The following notes are mostly those of that excellent man; a few of which are taken from his Gnomon Novi Testamenti, but far more from his Ekklarte Offenbarung, which is a full and regular comment on the Revelation. Every part of this I do not undertake to defend. But none should condemn him without reading his proofs at large. It did not suit my design to insert these: they are above the capacity of ordinary readers. Nor had I room to insert the entire translation of a book, which contains near twelve hundred pages.

All I'can do' is, partly to translate, partly abridge, the most necessary of his observations; allowing myself the liberty to alter some of them, and to add a few notes where he is not full. His text, it may be observed, I have taken almost throughout, which apprehend he has abundantly defended, both in the Gnomon itself, and in his Apparatus and Crisis in Apocalypsin.

Yet I by no means pretend to understand or explain all that is contained in this mysterious book. I only offer what help I can to the serious inquirer, and shall rejoice if any be moved thereby, more carefully to read, and more deeply to consider, the words of this prophecy. Blessed is he that does this with a single eye. His labour shall not be in vain.

The Revelation.

CHAP. I. 1. THE Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew his servants the

CHAP. I. Ver. 1. The Revelation-Properly so called; for things covered before, are here revealed, or unveiled. No prophecy in the Old Testament has this title: it was reserved for this alone in the New. It is, as it were, a manifesto, wherein the heir of all things declares, that all power is given him in heaven and earth; and that he will, in the end, gloriously exercise that power, maugre all the opposition of all his enemies. Of Jesus Christ-Not, of John the divine, a title added in latter ages. Certain it is, that appellation, the divine, was not brought into the church, much less was it affixed to John the apostle, till long after the apostolic age. It was St. John, indeed, who wrote this book; but the author of it is Jesus Christ. Which God gave unto kim-According to his holy, glorified humanity, as the great prophet of the church. God gave the Revelation to Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ made it known to his servants. To shew-This word recurs, chap. xxii. 6. And in many places, the parts of this book refer to each other. Indeed, the whole structure of it breathes the art of God, comprising, in the most finished compendium, things to come, many, various; near, intermediate, remote; the greatest, the least; terrible, comfortable; old, new; long, short; and these interwoven together, opposite, composite; relative to each other, at a small, at a great distance; and therefore sometimes, as it were, disappearing, broken off, suspended, and afterwards unexpectedly and most seasonably appearing again. In all its parts, it has an admirable variety, with the most exact harmony, beautifully illustrated by those very digressions which seem to interrupt it; in this manner does it display the manifold wisdom of God, shining, in the economy of the church, through so many ages. His servants-Much is comprehended in this appellation. It is a great thing to be a servant of Jesus Christ. This book is dedicated particularly to the servants of Christ in the seven churches in Asia; but not exclusive of all his other servants, in all nations and ages. It is one single Revelation, and yet sufficient for them all, from the time it was written to the end of the world. Serve thou the Lord Jesus Christ in truth. So shalt thou learn his secret in this book. Yea, and thou shalt feel in thy heart, whether this book be divine or not. The things which must shortly come to pass-The things contained in this prophecy, did begin to be accomplished shortly after it was given; and the whole might be said to come to pass shortly, in the same sense as St. Peter says, The end of all things is at hand; and our Lord himself, Behold, I come quickly. There is in this book, a rich treasure of all the doctrines pertaining to faith and holiness. But these are also delivered in other parts of Holy Writ; so that the Revelation need not to have been given for the sake of these. The peculiar design of this is, To shew the things which must come to pass. And this we are especially to have before our eyes, whenever we read or hear it.

It is said afterward, Write what thou seest: and again, Write what thou hast seen, and what is, and what shall be hereafter: but here, where the scope of the book is shewn, it is only said, the things which must come to pass. Accordingly, the shewing things to come, is the great point in view throughout the whole. And St. John writes what he has seen, and what is, only as it has an influence on, or gives light to, what shall be. And he Jesus Christ, sent and signified them-Shewed them by signs or emblems, (so the Greek word properly means,) by his angel-Peculiarly called in the sequel, The angel of God, and particularly mentioned, chap. xvii. 1, xxi. 9, xxii. 6, 16, to his servant John-A title given to no other single person throughout the book.

things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and 2 signified them by his angel to his servant John. Who hath testified the Word of God, and the testimony of 3 Jesus Christ, whatsoever things he saw. Happy is he

V: 2. Who hath testified-In the following book, the word of God-Given directly by God, and the testimony of Jesus-Which he hath left us, as the faithful and true witness, whatsoever things he saw-In such a manner as was á full confirmation of the divine original of this book.

V.3. Happy is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy -Some have miserably handled this book, Hence others are afraid to touch it. And while they desire to know all things else, reject only the knowledge of those which God hath shewn. They inquire after any thing rather than this: as if it were written, Happy is he that doth not read this prophecy. Nay, but happy is he that readeth, and they that hear and keep the words thereof: especially at this time, when so considerable a part of them is on the point of being fulfilled.

Nor are helps wanting, whereby any sincere and diligent inquirer may understand what he reads therein. The book itself is written in the most accurate manner possible; it distinguishes the several things whereof it treats by seven epistles, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven phials, each of which sevens is divided into four and three. Many things the book itself explains, as the seven stars, the seven candlesticks, the lamb, his seven horns and seven eyes, the incense, the dragon, the heads and horns of the beasts, the fine linen, the testimony of Jesus. And much light arises from comparing it with the ancient prophecies, and the predictions in the other books of the New Testament.

In this book our Lord has comprised what was wanting in those prophecies, touching the time which followed his ascension, and the end of the Jewish polity. Accordingly, it reaches from the Old Jerusalem to the New, reducing all things into one sum in the exactest order, and with a near resemblance to the ancient prophets. The introduction and conclusion agree with Daniel; the description of the man-child, and the promises to Sion, with Isaiah; the judgment of Babylon, with Jeremiah: again, the determination of times, with Daniel; the architecture of the Holy City, with Ezekiel; the emblems of the horses, candlesticks, &c. with Zechariah. Many things, largely described by the prophets, are here summarily repeated, and frequently in the same words. To them we may, then, usefully have recourse. Yet the Revelation suffices for the explaining itself, even if we do not yet understand those prophecies; yea, it casts much light upon them. Frequently, likewise, where there is a resemblance between them, there is a difference also; the Revelation, as it were, taking a stock from one of the old prophets, and inserting a new graft into it. Thus Zechariah speaks of two olive trees; and so does St. John, but with a different meaning. Daniel has a beast with ten horns: so has St. John, but not with quite the same signification. And here the difference of words, emblems, things, times, ought studiously to be observed, Our Lord foretold many things before his passion; but not all things, for it was not yet seasonable. Many things, likewise, his Spirit foretold, in the writings of the apostles, so far as the necessities of those times required; how he comprises them all in one short book, therein presupposing all the other prophecies, and at the same time explaining, continuing, and perfecting them in one thread. It is right, therefore, to compare them; but not to measure the fulness of these, by the scantiness of those preceding.

Christ, when on earth, foretold what would come to pass in a short time; adding a brief description of the last things. Here he foretels the intermediate things: so that both, put together, constitute one complete chain of prophecy. This book is, therefore, hot only the sum and the key of all the prophecies which preceded, but likewise a supplement to all, the seals being closed before:

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