the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose 9 number is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city: and fire came down from 10 God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where both the wild beast and the false prophet are: and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat thereon, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled 12 away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw

(That is, in all the earth,) the more diligently, as he hath been so long restrained, and knoweth he hath but a small time; Gog and Magog-Magog, the second son of Japhet, is the father of the innumerable northern uations toward the East. The prince of these nations, of which the bulk of that army will consist, is termed Gog by Ezekiel also, chap. xxxviii. 2. Both Gog and Magog signify high, or lifted up, a name well suiting both the prince and the people. When that fierce leader of many nations shall appear, then will his own name be known: to gather them--Both Gog and his armies. Of Gog little more is said, as being soon mingled with the rest in the common slaughter. The Revelation speaks of this the more briefly, because it had been so particularly described by Ezekiel. Whose number is as the sand of the sea-Immensely numerous, a proverbial expression.

V. 9. And they went up on the breadth of the earth-Or the land, filling the whole breadth of it, and surrounded the camp of the saints-Perhaps the Gentile church, dwelling round about Jerusalem, and the beloved city-So termed likewise, Ecclus. xxiv. 11.

V. 10. And they-All these, shall be tormented day and night-That is, without any intermission. Strictly speaking there is only night there. No day, no sun, no hope!

V. 11. And I saw-A representation of that great day of the Lord, a great white throne-How great, who can say? White with the glory of God, of him that sat upon it, Jesus Christ. The apostle does not attempt to describe him here, only adds that circumstance, far above all description: from whose face the earth and the heavens fed away-Probably both the aerial and the starry heaven, which shall pass away with a great noise: and there was found no place for them-But they were wholly dissolved, the very elements melting with fervent heat. It is not said, They were thrown into great commotions, but they fell into dissolution: not, they removed to a distant place, but there was found no place for them; they ceased to exist; they were no more. And all this, not at the strict command of the Lord Jesus, not at his awful presence, or before his fiery indignation; but at the bare presence of his Majesty, sitting with severe, but adorable dignity on his throne.

V. 12. And I saw the dead, great and small-Of every age and condition. This includes all those who undergo a change equivalent to death, 1 Cor. xv. 51. And the books-Human judges have their books written with pen and ink. How different is the nature of these books! Were opened-0, how many hidden things will then come to light! And how many will have quite another appearance, than they had before, in the sight of men? With the book of God's omniscience, that of conscience will then exactly tally. The book of natural law, as well as of revealed, will then also be displayed. It is not said, The books will be read: the light of that day will make them visible

the dead, great and small, standing before the throne: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of the things that were written in the books, 13 according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were therein; and death and hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every one 14 according to their works. And death and hades were cast 15 into the lake of fire: this is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire.

CHAP. XXI. 1. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were 2 passed away: and there was no more sea. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her

*Mal. iii. 16.

to all: then particularly shall every man know himself, and that with the utmost exactness. This will be the first true, full, impartial, universal history. And another book-Wherein are enrolled all that are accepted through the Beloved; all who lived and died in the faith that worketh by love: which is the book of life, was opened-What manner of expectation will then be, with regard to the issue of the whole?

V. 13. Death and hades gave up the dead that were in them-Death gave up all the bodies of men, and hades, the receptacle of separate souls, gave them up, to be re-united to their bodies.

V. 14. And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire-That is, were abolished for ever. For neither the righteous nor the wicked were to die any more: their souls and bodies were no more to be separated. Consequently neither death nor hades could any more have a being.

CHAP. XXI. Ver. 1. And I saw-So it runs, chap. xix. 11, xx. 1, 4, 11, in a succession. All these several representations follow one another in order. So the vision reaches into eternity: a new heaven and a new earth-After the resurrection and general judgment. St John is not now describing a flourishing state of the church, but a new and eternal state of all things; for the first heaven and the first earth-Not only the lowest part of heaven, not only the solar system, but the whole ethereal heaven, with all its host, whether of planets or fixed stars, Isa. xxxiv. 4, Matt. xxiv. 29. All the former things will be done away, that all may become new, ver. 4, 5, 2 Pet iii. 10, 12, are passed away-But in the fourth verse it is said, are gone away. There the stronger word is used: for death, mourning, and sorrow, go away together; the former heaven and earth only pass away, giving place to the new heaven and the new earth.

V. 2. And I saw the holy city-The new heaven, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem, are closely connected. This city is wholly new, belonging not to this world, not to the millenium, but to eternity. This appears from the series of the vision, the magnificence of the description, and the opposition of this city to the second death, chap. xx, 11, 12, xxi. 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, xxii. 5. Coming down-In the very act of descending.

3 husband. And I heard a loud voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God with men, and he will pitch his tent with them; and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their 4 God. And he shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall sorrow, or crying, or pain, be any more; because the former things 5 are gone away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith to me, 6 Write: these sayings are faithful and true. And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that thirsteth, 7 of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be to him 8 a God, and he shall be to me a son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

V. 3. They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God-So shall the covenant between God and his people, be executed in the most glorious manner.

V. 4. And death shall be no more-This is a full proof, that this wholedescription belongs not to time, but eternity: neither shall sorrow, or crying, or pain, be any more; because the former things are gone away-Under the former heaven, and upon the former earth, there was death and sorrow, crying and pain, all which occasioned many tears. But now pain and sorrow are Яled away, and the saints have everlasting life and joy.

V. 5. And he that sat upon the throne said-Not to St. John only. From the first mention of him that sat upon the throne, chap. iv. 2, this is the first speech which is expressly ascribed to him. And he The angel, saith to mé, Write-As follows, These sayings are faithful and true-This includes all that went before. The apostle seems again to have ceased writing, being overcome with ecstasy at the voice of him that spake.

V. 6. And heThat sat upon the throne, said to me, It is done-All that the prophets had spoken; all that was spoken, chap. iv. 1. We read this expression twice in this prophecy; first, chap. xvi. 17, at the fulfilling of the wrath of God, and here at the making all things new: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end-The latter explains the foriner, the everJasting; I will give to him that thirsteth-The Lamb saith the same, chap. xxii. 17.

V.7. He that overcometh Which is more than he that thirsteth, shall inherit these things-Which I have made new. I will be his God, and he shall be my son-Both in the Hebrew and Greek language, in which the Scriptures were written, what we translate shall and will are one and the same word. The only difference consists in an English translation, or in the want of knowledge in him that interprets what he does not understand.

V. 8. But the fearful and unbelieving-Who, through want of courage and faith, do not overcome, and abominable-That is, Sodomites, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters-These three sins generally went together, their part is in the lake.

9

And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven phials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, 10 the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me the holy city Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: her window was like the most.

precious stone, like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal, 12 Having a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and the names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children 13 of Israel: On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west 14 three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve founda

tions, and upon them the twelve names of the twelve 15 apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had

V. 9. And there came one of the seven angels that had the seven phials— Whereby room had been made for the kingdom of God, saying, Come, I will shew thee the bride-The same angel had before shewed him Babylon, chap. xvi. 1, which is directly opposed to the New Jerusalem.

V. 10. And he carried me away in the Spirit-The same expression as before, chap. xvii. 3, and shewed me the holy city Jerusalem-The old city is now forgotten, so that this is no longer termed The New, but absolutely Jerusalem. O, how did St. John long to enter in! But the time was not yet come. Ezekiel also describes the holy city, and what pertains thereto, chap. xl-xlviii. but a city quite different from the Old Jerusalem, as it was either before or after the Babylonish captivity. The descriptions of the prophet and of the apostle, agree in many particulars: but in many more they differ. Ezekiel expressly describes the temple, and the worship of God therein, closely alluding to the Levitical service. But St. John saw no temple, and describes the city far more large, and glorious, and heavenly, than the prophet. Yet that which he describes is the same city; but as it subsisted soon after the destruction of the beast. This being observed, both the prophecies agree together, and one may explain the other.

V. 11. Having the glory of God-For her light, ver. 23, Isa. lx. 1, 2, Zech. ii. 5. Her window-There was only one which ran all round the city. The light did not come in from, without through this. For the glory of God is within the city. But in shines out from within to a great distance, ver. 23, 24.

V. 12. Twelve angels-Still waiting upon the heirs of salvation.

V. 14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb-Figuratively shewing, that the inhabitants of the city had built only on that faith, which the apostles once delivered to the saints.

V. 15. And he measured the city twelve thousand furlongs-Not in circumference, but on each of the four sides. Jerusalem was thirty-three furlongs in circumference: Alexandria thirty in length, ten in breadth: Nineveh is reported to have been four hundred furlongs round: Babylon four hundred and eighty. But what inconsiderable villages were all these, compared to the New Jerusalem? By this measure is understood the greatness of the city, with the exact order and just proportion of every part of it: to shew figuratively, that this city was prepared for a great number of inhabitants, how small soever the number of real Christians may sometimes appear to be: and

a measure, a golden reed, to measure the city, and the 16 gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four-square, and the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs the length, and the breadth, and the height of 17 it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hun

dred and forty-four reeds, the measure of a man, that is, 18 of an angel. And the building of the wall thereof was jasper, and the city was of pure gold, like clear glass. 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was a jasper, the second a sapphire, the third a chalcedony, 20 the fourth an emerald, The fifth a sardonyx, the sixth a sardius, the seventh a chrysolite, the eighth a beryll, the ninth a topaz, the tenth a chrysophrase, the eleventh 21 a jacinth, the twelfth an amethyst. And the twelve

gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates was of one

that every thing relating to the happiness of that state, was prepared with the greatest order and exactness.

The city is twelve thousand furlongs high: the wall, a hundred and fortyfour reeds. This is exactly the same height, only expressed in a different manner. The twelve thousand furlongs, being spoken absolutely, without any explanation, are common, human furlongs: the hundred forty-four reeds are not of common, human length, but of angelic, abundantly larger than human. It is said, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel, because St. Johu saw the measuring angel in a human shape. The reed, therefore, was as great as was the stature of that human form in which the angel appeared. In treating of all these things, a deep reverence is necessary, and so is a measure of spiritual wisdom; that we may neither understand them too literally and grossly, nor go too far from the natural force of the words. The gold, the pearls, the precious stones, the walls, foundations, gates, are undoubtedly figurative expressions; seeing the city itself is in glory, and the inhabitants of it have spiritual bodies: yet these spiritual bodies are also real bodies, and the city is an abode distinct from its inhabitants, and proportioned to them who take up a finite and a determinate space. The measures, therefore, above mentioned, are real and determinate.

V. 18. And the building of the wall was jasper-That is, the wall was built of jasper, and the city-The houses-was of pure gold.

V. 19. And the foundations were adorned with precious stones-That is, beautifully made of them. The precious stones on the high-priest's breast-plate of judgment, were a proper emblem to express the happiness of God's church, in his presence with them, and in the blessing of his protection. The like ornaments on the foundations of the walls of this city, may express the perfect glory and happiness of all the inhabitants of it, from the most glorious presence and protection of God Each precious stone was not the ornament of the foundation, but the foundation itself. The colours of these are remarkably mixed. A jasper is of the colour of white marble, with a light shade of green and of red; a sapphire is of a sky blue, speckled with gold; a chalcedony, or carbuncle, of the colour of red-hot iron; an emerald, of a grass-green.

V. 20. A sardonyx is red streaked with white; a sardius of a deep red; a chrysolite of a deep yellow; a beryll, sea-green; a topaz, pale yellow. A chrysoprase is greenish and transparent, with gold specks; a jacinth, of a red purple; an amethyst, violet purple.