Or does it mean that the radiance which played over all the city was like the glitter of a jasper? If they have only heard His voice, this after all is the incalculable boon; yea, it is the turning-point of all blessing. Moral unfitness has its just censure; but sovereign grace must be asserted also. As man does not believe in the resurrection of man, it is no wonder that he does not believe in the resurrection of an empire. That is, Satan will be the spring of its final rise and power; he, and not God in any way whatever, will give it its character. The new heaven and the new earth will not then be distinct; the very earth of the saints, their glorified bodies, will now be spiritual and heavenly, and suited to those pure and bright mansions. See Romans 1:31. There are nations and the access though to this heavenly city will be the kings. But according to His principle of government it is not merely personal guilt, but that which, from despising the testimony of God, is thus morally accumulating from age to age in the ratio of the testimony of God and the wickedness that has been indulged by men in spite of it. The church goes on according to the will of the Lord, who might according to His own purpose lengthen or abridge the space. And he said unto me, It is finished. The great city was either guilty Jerusalem or Babylon. For that which comes distinctly before us in this one verse is the twofold fact, that the ten horns here contemplated receive their kingly power for the same hour or time as the beast, and not subsequently, when his rule was extinguished. And unbelieving - Those who have not true faith; avowed infidels; infidels at heart; and all who have not the sincere faith of the gospel. It is plain that what the verse contemplates is neither the Roman power when there was one head of the empire, nor the eastern or Byzantine part of it after that partition, nor the western state of division under the kings who succeeded the deposition of Augustulus; for in the medieval state there may have been ten kings (in contrast with the ancient state of the beast without them but no beast or imperial system with its chiefs. The very name indeed shows something similar; not of course that the church can ever be earthly. Thus everything implies their simultaneous presence for the same time and common action with the beast, in plundering and then destroying Babylon. And the building of the wall was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. Isaiah has a picture of the day when all nations will go up to Mount Sion to be taught the law and to learn to walk in the ways of God ( Isaiah 2:2-4). It cannot be done till the moment comes. Reference-Verse. This, was no lack. God didn't reveal the truth of the church until the New Testament times. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was He is , Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked , Revelation 20:14,15 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. Even when Jerusalem was obliterated, the Jews never lost confidence that God would restore it. In as many things as she glorified herself, and lived luxuriously, so much torment and sorrow give to her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am not a widow, and I shall in no wise see sorrow.". 4. The, nature of the case exempts of course the saints of the millennium;* and this very simply, because they are never said to die at all. And this is entirely confirmed byRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18, where it was told us that they are with Him when He comes. It is all ours to enjoy to the fullest with Him. It is of the seven in that point of view, because it is imperialism; but it is an eighth, because it has a diabolical source when raised up again. The account given of Babylon inRevelation 17:1-18; Revelation 17:1-18 does not follow Revelation 14:1-20 or Revelation 16:1-21 in point of prophetic time, but differs from them in structure. There is no lack of precision, but the very reverse. The idolaters are those who worshipped the false gods of whom the world was full. The judgment of the dead is strictly individual, judgments in this world are not. When a person dies, it will be a positive curse from God; if he die even a hundred years old, it will be like a baby dying now. Verse Only. We read, for instance, of the cloud which filled the house at the dedication of Solomon's Temple ( 1 Kings 8:10-11). Babylon was the spurious church as long as it was a question of the church, and the final corrupter when it could be no question of this longer, and there went forth the closing testimony of God. Her part in the corruption of the high and the intoxication of the low her idolatrous character has come before us. We shall set down some of these dreams and it will be clear at once how the Old Testament again and again finds its echo in the Revelation. All the nations which are in the whole earth, all shall turn and fear God truly, all shall leave their idols ( Tob_14:6 ). Nothing more is to be done. The curious thing is that the signs of the Zodiac have as their corresponding precious stones exactly these twelve. And idolaters; that worship devils, idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, representing God, and Christ, and the virgin Mary, and saints departed, Revelation 9:20. The abominable are those who practice abominationsthat is, the blasphemous and licentious practices associated with idolatry. The west is the land of the dying day and the setting sun. Separate Line. It will be cubed however rather than round and it will be fourteen hundred miles cubed.Now, if we lived dimensionally at that time, you know we live on the surface of the earth, but if you had a cube and we lived dimensionally, it is interesting to get out your pencil and notepad and figure how many square miles you could get in a cube that was fourteen hundred miles in each direction. "But it is not of natural fear and timidity that John speaks; it is that cowardice which in the last resort chooses self and safety before Christ. We may surely say her cup was not yet full. fashioned it in size of many furlongs, with a giant tower, touching the very clouds, and seen of all, so that all the. For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. The city of God needed no created light, because God the uncreated light was in the midst of her. On that account it was altogether out of place to pay homage to him instead of to the God who had sent him to serve. . And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations unto it. You need no meeting place where you go to meet God. John must have meant something by making the same angel the bearer of such different messages. If some few have joined on one side, some are sure to help the other, because they are jealous of any one acquiring such a preponderant authority: and power as to govern the rest. He is urged to take up the same cry. All is then fixed. How this precisely fits in, let me say, with the state of feeling in these modern times; for "constitutionalism," as men call it, is the fruit of the Teutonic system supervening on that of the broken up Roman empire. In short, it is not tropical language, as when it is said of the prodigal son "This my son was dead, and is alive again;" or of the restoration of Israel, which is compared to a resurrection from the dead for the rest of the world. It is an evident contrast with the state supposed in the wheat-and-tare field of Christendom which is found at the end of the age. The greatness of this future felicity is declared and illustrated, 1. "[19] "It is not fear which is condemned. The twelve apostles of the Lamb will accordingly have their own special place. Their punishment: They have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Some things which seem vastly important are seen to be unimportant when seen in the light of God. Beyond controversy, however, it is a most unusual and abnormal reappearance, which is altogether exceptional in the history of the world. While these sins do mark some believers who follow the dictates of their flesh (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21), they more generally identify the lost. In short, it would seem that God has hedged round His own draft of Babylon so as to make it quite plain that Rome, city and system, figures in the scene; and this too necessarily involving a medieval description, though the full result will not be till the end of the age; for she rides the beast or empire characterized so as naturally to involve the past barbarian irruption and the resulting ten-kingdomed state. This continuing belief is a witness to three things--to the unquenchable immortal longings in man's soul, to man's inherent sense of sin and to man's faith in God. When the apostle Paul wrote to the, saints at Rome, he particularly specified at that very time the duty of absolute subjection on the part of Christians to the powers which then were. But most important of all, in Solomon's temple the Holy of Holies was a perfect cube ( 1 Kings 6:20). For I am not aware that any scripture treats of the subject, beyond laying down principles such as we have sought to apply to the case. "Behold," it said, "the dwelling-place of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them; and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, nor will there be any grief or crying, nor will there be any more pain, for the first things have gone.". John is saying that all life begins in God and ends in God. Its length and breadth and height are equal. It was common enough for cities to be built in the form of a square; both Babylon and Nineveh were like that. When its own season arrives, as it surely will, the divine hindrance is to be removed, and the devil then is allowed to do his worst. At the beginning there will have been carnage, as we know, among both the western powers and the eastern powers. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. I am the, Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. In Jewish dreams the end of the sea is the end of a force hostile to God and to man. It is therefore no wonder that both the Apostles speak of it as a real crime connected with murder and other works of the flesh, as well as with idolatry. But a voice issues from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. These compose the third class here spoken of. Web8 But as for the cowards and unbelieving and abominable [who are devoid of character and personal integrity and practice or tolerate immorality], and murderers, and sorcerers [with There are three gates on the east. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. How can it be said that this vile, corrupt, idolatrous system of the last days was guilty of the blood of all martyrs? The day of the Lord on the world in no way sets aside His dealing with individual souls. It is the divine judgment of man eternal judgment. That is not at all the way in which the guests are spoken of. (2) FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD ( Revelation 21:3-4 continued). Here I am obliged to say that our authorized version, and not merely it, but our common Greek Testaments, are altogether wrong. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. "I am Alpha and Omega," says God to John, "the beginning and the end." Ezekiel had his dream of the rebuilt Jerusalem ( Ezekiel 40:1-49 and Ezekiel 48:1-35) in which we find even the picture of the twelve gates of the city ( Ezekiel 48:31-35). In fact, we may say, all nations will be desolated by judgments of one kind or another; but for all this the world proceeding for a thousand years with every outward blessing, and the most admirable government administered by the blessed Lord Himself, will issue in the teeming and prosperous races of mankind. The cowards are those who loved ease and comfort more than they loved Christ, and who in the day of trial were ashamed to show whose they were and whom they served. Lit. But what is also of consequence to observe is, that John saw souls the souls of those beheaded on account of the witness of Jesus, and on account of the word of God. Sorcerers Persons who, by drugs, philtres, fumigations, c., pretend to produce supernatural effects, chiefly by spiritual agency. There was judicial discernment with the distinct possession of all titles to sovereignty. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And the abominable - The verb from which this word is derived means to excite disgust; to feel disgust at; to abominate or abhor; and hence the participle - the abominable - refers to all who are detestable, to wit, on account of their sins; all whose conduct is offensive to God. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come." There is a certain difficulty of translation here. This too must not be viewed as if it were a loss. WebRevelation 21:8 Adj-DMP GRK: NAS: But for the cowardly and unbelieving KJV: But the fearful, and unbelieving, INT: but to [the] fearful and And in creating the atoms, and bringing into the heart of the atom, the protons tightly knit together in the nucleus of the atom, He violated the law of electricity, Collins Law, which speaks of the repelling force of positive charges. Here occurs a remarkable change in the sequence of the visions, though easily understood; for it must be evident that there is nothing to follow this in point of time. And so it is with this very Babylon that comes before us here. These sins have often been commented upon in this series; the principal significance of their appearance here lies in the fact that "God is the speaker!" The very reverse is the undeniable fact. Just as the city of man's confusion was seen in her vile, degraded, and degrading relations with the beast, this city is seen in her pure and glorious relations with the Lamb. All and each of these. Reference-Verse. And unbelieving Those who resist against full evidence. John 8:31) (MSB), abominable . Chapter 21 THE NEW CREATION (Revelation 21:1) 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had gone; and the sea was no more. John has seen the doom of the wicked, and now he sees the bliss of the blessed. The dream of a new heaven and a new earth was deep in Jewish thought. (Revelation 21:5). For remark, the beast or Roman empire is described here as that which once existed, which then ceased to exist, and which assumes a final shape when it reappears from the bottomless pit. Here is seen the holy city coming down out of heaven from God, which is declared to be the bride, the Lamb's wife, in the plainest contrast with the great harlot. "Come," he said, "and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." "And the nations shall walk in the light of it." It is hard to see how Roman city, or anything civil connected with it, could be called "mystery." "Flesh and blood," we know, "cannot inherit the kingdom of God." Babylon must hear, I do not doubt, the final testimony of God the gospel of the kingdom that is to go forth in the last days; but she loves her pleasure and power, and refuses truth. Those who deny Christ through fear of persecution prove that their faith is false, and will join their tempter in the lake of fire (7-8). Victorious power put forth to subdue is the meaning of the white horse. We shall find that the scripture affords much light to decide the true bearing of the prophecy, and that no application to the past can possibly satisfy the conditions satisfactorily. Hence we have to own the divine source of government even when its holders abandon all such thoughts themselves, and maintain their rule in the world as a thing flowing from the people irrespective of God. of mourning shall be ended ( Isaiah 60:10-20). Whereas for the Jew, there are necessary dates and momentous changes that must take place; and hence, as Daniel represents the Jew, we have the difference kept up. Of course there must needs be a consultation with the kings, when the kings exist and become an accredited part of that empire, as rulers subordinate to the beast. He is dwelling with His people. He taught that in the invisible world there existed the perfect form or idea of everything upon earth, and that all things on earth were imperfect copies of the heavenly realities. It is not meant that he who was more honoured in service than any of the twelve, he whom the Lord used for bringing out the church of the heavenly places, will not have his own most singular dignity in this glorious scene. The gospel had been preached there, as she of Chaldea was not without law and prophet. They could not burn at a stake for Christ, but they must burn in hell for sin. And all liars - All who are false in their statements, their promises, their contracts. The Gentiles will come to God from the ends of the earth, confessing and repenting of the previous errors of their ways ( Jeremiah 16:19-21). This chapter explains how it was that Babylon was so offensive to God, and wherefore He judged her thus sternly. The pulon could be either of two things. And what kind God may create after us, who knows? Those who triumph through persecution and temptation prove the genuineness of their faith, and will enjoy a specially close relationship with God their Father. He came to the world, and avenged His people on the beast and the false prophet with the kings and their armies; and after that the risen saints reign with Him over it a thousand years. Consequently Christianity, as being directly aggressive on the falsehood of heathenism, was of all things the most offensive to Rome. God uses them for this object,-the setting aside of her, the great religious corruptress, whose centre is found at Rome. Then again the character of it, as derived from Christianity having already taken its place, is asserted. John goes on to amplify this statement. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The promise of God to those who overcome is the same that was made to Abraham the founder of the nation, to David on behalf of Solomon his son, and to the Messiah himself. This is never the case with an angel. But no believer comes into judgment. Of course they will be preserved through that crisis in some sort of way suitable to divine wisdom. Next they will seize her resources. It is just asphalt. WebGreek Reverse Interlinear Layout for Revelation 8:1. "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." It was most likely the stone now known as lapis lazuli. The son is doubly guilty, because he saw his father's nakedness and felt it enough to hide. Holding on to what others knew before them, or little more, they reduce themselves to a minimum of the truth. "He brought me in the visions of God into the land of Israel, and set me down upon a very high mountain" ( Ezekiel 40:2). Thus, whether the books or the book be examined, all conspire to declare the justice, the solemn but most affecting righteousness, of God's final irrevocable sentence. WebHE THAT OVERCOMETH - See the notes on Revelation 2:7. A seventh should follow; and what is more, the seventh was in one aspect to be an eighth. "In thy light," said the Psalmist, "do we see light" ( Psalms 36:9). The subject-matter of this vision is so great, and of such great importance to the church and people of God, that they have need of the fullest assurances of it; and God therefore from heaven repeats and ratifies the truth thereof. The heavens will be on fire. The word used for "light" is phoster ( G5458) . And he carried me away in [the] spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." No hint whatever is given that they constitute the city, but there is the inscription of their names outside. What John meant to symbolize by this arrangement other than the catholicity of the Church we do not know. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is full of this universal hope. And let us all ponder the law of the. Holman Christian The God who revealed himself to the patriarchs is the God who also, and far more fully, revealed himself in Jesus Christ; the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. To whom else could they say it? 20, Revelation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. This is the second death. Observe, 1. The city needs no temple because the presence of God is continually there. A sweet strain shall they utter from their mouths in hymns. The book of life will confirm what is gathered from the books. The seventh bowl contained under it the fall of Babylon, which "was remembered before God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.". He was a divine person, whatever new position He assumes for the world. All He is going to do is relax and let it go, and the whole material universe will go up in one gigantic puff. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. As for the earthly land and city, the moon will have her light increased to that of the sun, and the sun shall be sevenfold. It could be a yellow beryl or a gold-coloured jasper. (i) We must note the city's shape. I say "righteousnesses," not "righteousness." . That the unsaved are in view seems clear since their part (i.e., their destiny) will be in the lake of fire. The Sibylline Oracles has a noble passage which tells of the reaction of the Gentiles when they see the goodness of God to Israel: Then all the isles and the cities shall say, How doth the Eternal, love those men! WebRevelation 21:8 New International Version 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all 21:8 Greek NT: Stephanus Textus Receptus 1550 , Revelation 21:8 Hebrew Bible , Revelation 21:8 Aramaic NT: Peshitta , Deuteronomy 20:8 And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall , Judges 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, , Isaiah 51:12 I, even I, am he that comforts you: who are you, that you should , Isaiah 57:11 And of whom have you been afraid or feared, that you have lied, and , Matthew 8:26 And he said to them, Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? 16 The city lies four-square, and its length is the same as its breadth. When we remember how precious the Temple was to the Jews, this is amazing. There stands the solemn brand graven, not on the blasphemous beast, but on the forehead of its rider, "Mystery, Babylon the great." Again John is hearing the voice that the great prophets had heard, "I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no God" ( Isaiah 44:6). John may simply have used the breast-plate as his model. God can take a man and re-create him, and will some day create a new universe for the saints whose lives he has renewed. It is to be supposed that it will far exceed anything yet seen on the face of the earth. These are not merely the preacher-prejudices of current religion, but the eternal laws of God against such things. This fellowship with God in the golden age brings certain things. They must die another death after their natural death; the agonies and terrors of the first death will consign them over to the far greater terrors and agonies of eternal death, to die and to be always dying. At the end of the millennium the righteous and the wicked form two distinct arrays, though even then there would appear to be a line drawn between the surrounding camp, and the beloved city Jerusalem on earth, where the Jews were. These were simply the characters of provisional judgment that filled the interval after the church was gone, and before the reign with Christ. Then there is the reigning power, but not the execution of judgment in this awful fashion which is attributed to the Lord Himself. Line-By-Line Order: Verse-Reference. We can easily understand that the overthrow of the ecclesiastical power is necessary to leave a full field unimpeded for the imperial power to develop itself in its final form of violence and rebellion and apostacy against the Lord. "And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. The old oracles were sealed then: not so John's. The ten horns with the beast are all to receive authority the beast of course wielding the imperial power, they as kings, all during one and the same time before the end comes. Directly he had sinned, the word of God came, and he was called. But we as properly say, "Come." Thus it would include those who live in open sin; who practice detestable vices; whose conduct is suited to excite disgust and abhorrence. And the city lieth foursquare, and its length is as much as the breadth." What a privilege and what a blessing. When the Lord takes His own throne, they take theirs by grace. The name of the star is Wormwood. Separate Line. Sometimes, again, they have sought to turn it aside toward Jerusalem in her corrupt state. After so many sorrows, trials, difficulties, dangers, how sweet to have such a word, and to know that He who speaks is the holy and the true, and surely about to come in the faithfulness of His love! The bride is in view. But, further, we find that the saints who had suffered for Christ, during the time that the others were in heaven, are now reunited to their bodies and live, the Lord waiting for the last martyr that He might not leave out one of those who had died for His name. So here a description is given of the bride, the Lamb's wife, and we learn how it is that God will use her for unmeasured goodness and blessing and glory in the millennium, as the devil during this age has used Babylon to accomplish his wicked plans here below. *The description here is simply character, not dates. The church is heavenly; and in heaven there are no times nor seasons. Here is a tremendous thing. Then follows another scene still more solemn the most awe-inspiring of all we can contemplate, at the same time full of blessing for the Christian to look onward to as that which will for ever put aside every trace of evil, and vindicate good where man must altogether fail. Moral elements too were not wanting: the mystery of lawlessness had long been at work, though the enemy had not yet brought in the apostacy, and still less the manifestation of the lawless one. Buildings do not make a Church nor liturgy, nor form of government, nor method of ordination to the ministry. But the fearful Those who, for fear of losing life or their property, either refused to receive the Christian religion, though convinced of its truth and Nations shall come from the ends of the earth to see the glory of God (Wis 17:34). At the same time we are not at liberty to eliminate such a feature out of the description. I do not, of course, complain of particular persons, but of the general vagueness in which the passage has been taken unless, indeed, the more common course be not to ignore it. Thus the only use that seems made of the book is negative and exclusive. It may be that John wishes us to see that the servant of God does not choose his task but must do whatever God sends him to do, and must speak whatever word God gives him to speak. And as for the twelve tribes of Israel, they are merely written there, nothing more. The Jews a speak of several distinct places in hell, for several sorts of sinners, as particularly for sabbath breakers, adulterers, and liars; and say of the wicked, that when he is condemned he shall take , "his part" in hell b; Revelation 9:20- : which is the second death; Revelation 9:20- :. WebFor the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. His blows on this world come more nationally as on Israel; incomparably more severe, as in possession of greater privileges, is the judgment of corrupt Christendom, or Babylon as it is called here. WebGreek Reverse Interlinear Layout for Revelation 8:13. "Yet is" is a most unfortunate expression. Is not this reason enough for saying that not even the shadow of solid ground appears for the system? There is an old story of a man who was weary of battling with the sea. pl.") There is nothing in Jesus to harm him; there is every thing to bless there is Himself to be enjoyed, even if they have failed in the full knowledge of it here below. 3. This also is a no less important element for understanding the chapter. shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. "God so loved that he gave " ( John 3:16). Isaiah heard God say: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

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