The Lord God is the Light.

no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: (4) and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. (5) And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun;" for the Lord God giveth them light:

any longer. There may be an allusion to Josh. vii. 12; there is certainly a borrowing of language from Zechariah (Zech. xiv. 11). All accursed things are removed, and with them passes the curse. The blessing of God's presence, and the blessing of God's rule take the place of the ascendancy of evil over the groaning creation (Rom. viii. 22). The throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it." The song of the Psalmist receives new force: "the Lord reigneth: let the earth rejoice; let the multitudes of the isles be glad thereof;" the accursed things, even all things that offend, are gathered out of the kingdom (Matt. xiii. 41).

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(3, 4) And his servants shall serve him .. We turn from the city to the inhabitants. They are described as serving Him, seeing Him, and resembling Him. They shall serve Him: they shall offer Him the service of the priesthood-the word employed is that used of temple service. The word translated" servants" is the word which the Apostles used when they spoke of themselves as slaves of Jesus Christ, owned as well as employed by Him (Phil. i. 1; 2 Pet. ii. 1; Jude, verse 1). Their service here was discharged in the midst of discouragements and in difficulty; and they walked by faith, not by sight. Now the servants shall serve without hindrance or opposition, and they shall be encouraged by His immediate presence. "They shall see his face;" they shall know even as they are known (1 Cor. xiii. 12); they shall see Him as He is. No wonder, then, that he should add (and observe that the thought is exactly that which occurs in the First Epistle of St. John (1 John iii. 2): “His name shall be in (or, on) their foreheads." The name stands for what God is in holiness and righteousness, purity and love. The name on the forehead indicates their resemblance to their Master. On earth the servants of God are changed from glory to glory into the same image (2 Cor. iii. 18). They aim to be perfect, as their Father in heaven is perfect (Matt. v. 48); but when they see God as He is they shall be like Him. His name is on their foreheads, for they behold His face: they wake up after His likeness, and they are satisfied (Ps. xvii. 15). There is a divine paradox in the double truth: those who are like God see Him, and those who see Him are like Him (Matt. v. 8). "There will come a time when the service of God shall be the beholding of Him; and though in these stormy seas, where we are now driven up and down, His Spirit is dimly seen on the face of the waters, and we are left to cast anchors out of the stern and wish for the day, that day will come, when, with the evangelist on the crystal and stable sea, all the creatures of God shall be full of eyes within, and there shall be no more curse, but His servants shall serve Him, and shall see His face" (Ruskin).

(5) And there shall be no night there. Rather, And night shall not be any more, and (they shall not have) need of the light of lamp, and of light of sun, because the Lord God shall give light upon them, and they shall reign unto the ages of ages. There shall be no night. Twice is it said (chap. xxi. 25) that

Words of Confirmation.

Chap. xxii. 6Words of

and they shall reign for ever and ever. (6) And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy 15. prophets sent his angel confirmation. to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. (7) Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that

all darkness shall cease; the darkness in which the saints and sorrowing walked shall be dispelled, when God gives them light. No artificial light is needed, since He who is Light is their light. Those who were children of light now dwell in the light of God's countenance; and they reign who were made kings and priests to God (chap. i. 6). With this utterance the visions of the Apocalypse close. The saints of God have been seen in the bitterness and toilfulness of their struggle and pilgrimage towards the Holy City; but from point to point they have made progress. They have gone from strength to strength, unto the God of gods appeareth every one of them in Zion. The Lord God is their sun and shield. He has given grace; He now gives glory. No good thing has been withheld; light, life, and love are theirs. "O Lord God of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee" (Ps. lxxxiv. 11, 12).

(6—21) These verses contain the concluding words. It is the Epilogue of the Book; it deals with practical exhortations, warnings, and blessings.

WORDS OF CONFIRMATION AND WARNING.

(6) And he said unto me -It is the angel who speaks. (Comp. chap. xxi. and verse 9 of this chapter.) In verse 7 we hear the words of Christ Himself. These sayings (or, words) are faithful and true. The reference is to the whole book. The book contains the Revelation of the faithful and true witness (chap. iii. 14), whose words are faithful, trustworthy, and fulfilling the desire of them that fear Him. Nor is there reason to doubt this; for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the Prophets-the God whose spirit moved the holy men of old to speak (2 Pet. i. 21)—sent His angel to show to His servants things which must come to pass shortly." (Comp. Note on chap. i. 1.)

(7) Behold, I come quickly.-The words of Christ Himself follow (perhaps quoted by the angel), to confirm the declaration of the last verse. These confirm. ing words are an embodiment of the spirit of the whole Apocalypse. And behold I am coming quickly! The Apocalypse is the revelation of the coming One; it reveals the dealings of Him who came, who comes, and is to come. (Comp. Note on chap. i. 4.) The blessing given in chap. i. 3 is in part repeated here, but it is a benediction emphatically on those who keep the words of the book. Blessed is he who keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. It is not in reading, or wondering, or talking, but in keeping, that the blessing comes. He that loves Christ will keep His commandments (John xiv. 15), even as Christ loved His Father, and kept His commandments (John xv. 10). Those who so keep the sayings or words of Christ in this book will stand firm as those who have built upon the rock (Matt. vii. 24, 25). The blessing of Christ to such was victory over death. "If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death" (John viii. 51).

keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. (8) And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. (9) Then saith he unto me, See thou do it nota a ch. 19. 10. for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: (10) And he saith unto worship God. me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy

.-Or

(8) And I John saw these things rather, And I John am he who hears and sees these things. The words of the angel are confirmed by the words of Christ. Now we have the confirmatory testimony of the seer to the truth of the vision. The declaration reminds us of the opening of the Epistle of St. John: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you" (1 John i. 1-3). It is no mere dream or ingenious fancy of his own that he has recorded; it is a veritable revelation.

And when I had heard. . .-Or better, When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who was showing me these things. Wonder and awe took possession of the seer, and for the second time he was about to offer unlawful homage to the angel-minister. (Comp. chap. xix. 10.) This twice offered and twice refused worship is full of teaching. To render to all their due is wise and seemly and Christlike; to offer exaggerated homage to any is to invert God's order, and to degrade by pretending to exalt man, whose true glory is that he is God's creation.

(9) Then saith he unto me -Better, And he saith to me, See (or, Take heed) not. I am a fellow servant of thee and of thy brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book; worship God (or, to God give worship). This rebuke is similar to that given in chap. xix. It is a wide affirmation of the truth that all-whether angels, or prophets, or simple faithful followers of Christ-are united in a grand bond of common devotion and common service to the same Lord.

(10) And he saith to me. . .-The angel, in contrast to the injunctions given to Daniel (Dan. xii. 9-13), bids the prophet "Seal not the words of the prophecy": the reason is added, "for the time is near.' "Such is ever the difference between the prophecy of the old, and the prophecy of the new dispensation. The one belonged to a preliminary and prefatory state; the other to a completive and final condition. However long the gospel age may have lasted, or may yet continue, it is the last time (1 John ii. 18): after it there is none other: then shall the end come" (Matt. xxiv. 14), (Dean Vaughan).

(11) He that is unjust, let him be unjust Better, Let him that is unjust, do injustice still; and let the foul pollute himself still; and let the righteous do righteousness still; and let the holy sanctify himself still. Two pairs are selected to stand as representatives of the good and of the bad: in these four are included all classes of godly and ungodly those who sin against society, and those who sin against themselves: those who act honourably, and those who keep themselves pure. But what does the verse mean? Does it mean that the time is so short that it is hardly sufficient to allow of men reforming themselves, so as to be ready 108

to worship the Angel.

of this book: for the time is at hand. (11) He that is unjust, let him be unjust still and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. (12) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (13) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.c (14) Blessed are they that do his commandments, that

for their Lord, and that therefore the lesson is, let those who would be ready for Him remember that now is the day of salvation? This is the view adopted by some: it contains a truth, but the meaning of the verse seems more general. Is it not the declaration of the ever terrible truth, that men are building up their destiny by the actions and habits of their lives ? "Sow an act -reap a habit: sow a habit-reap a character: sow a character-reap a destiny." The righteous become righteous: the godly become godly.

"Thus, all characters

Must shrink or widen, as our wine-skins do,
For more or less that we can pass in them:
And added years give ever a new key
To fixed prediction."

So, slowly, but surely, may the power of being masters of our fate pass out of our hands. It is in this law of our nature that the key to many of the darkest problems of the future may lie; and not without a solemn declaration of this law does the Book of Revelation close.

(12) And, behold, I come quickly...-Rather, Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to give back to each one as his work is. To give back to each here we have the truth declared by St. Paul uttered in words borrowed from Isaiah (Isa. xl. 10). "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap," wrote St. Paul (Gal. vi. 7, 8): “God gives back to each one his work," says St. John.

(13) I am Alpha -Here (as in chap. xxi. 6) we should render, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (See Note as above, and comp. John i. 1; Isa. xliv. 6.) The repetition of these glorious titles is not a mere idle repetition, or designed to give a rhetorical fulness to the peroration of the book: it is closely allied with the preceding thought. The warning has been given that men by continuing in sin (verse 11) are inviting against themselves the law by which act ripens to habit, and habit makes character, and character forms destiny. The moral laws set going by sin work thus:-Retribution is no dream: it is a terrible fact it is written large over nature. But the eternal laws of God, though righteously ordered, are not God: the refuge from the eternal laws which we invoke against ourselves by our sin is to be found in the Eternal God: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. those hunted by the wickedness of their own doings, God himself provides a refuge: underneath all laws are the everlasting arms (Deut. xxxiii. 27). The next verses set the way of refuge and safety before us.

(14) Blessed are they that do his commandments...-The reading of two of the best MSS. is, Blessed are they that wash their robes." we adopt, as we probably ought, this reading, the line

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If

The Final Invitation.

they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (15) For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. (16) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. (17) And the Spirit and the bride Chap. xxii. 17. The final invi- say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And

tation.

of thought suggested above is helped forward: there is in Him who is the First and the Last, refuge from the power of sin and law against which such solemn warning has been given. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin: the best who have striven and conquered were victors not by their own might, but by the blood of the Lamb (chap. xii. 11). If, how ever, we follow the Received text, we have a benediction which echoes the blessing promised to obedience in verses 7, 9: this echoing of promises from point to point is in harmony with the spirit of the whole epilogue. (Comp. verses 7, 9; and 7, 12.) The special blessing held out to those who wash their robes (or do His commandments) is the right or authority over the tree of life. Blessed are they that they may have (and continue to have) authority over the tree of life, and that they may enter in by the gates into the city. Admission into the city by the gate, which is of one pearl, and the continuous access to the tree of life, are the privileges of the faithful; and these privileges are free to all, for warnings do not forfeit privileges, but rather do they urge us to use them.

(15) For without are dogs and sorcerers.. Better, Outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolators, and every one loving and doing falsehood. The language is again an echo of earlier words. (See chap. xxi. 8.) The allusion to the dogs outside the city is hardly appreciated by Westerns. In the East, however, "troops of hungry and semi-wild dogs used to wander about the fields and streets of the cities, devouring dead bodies and other offal (1 Kings xiv. 11; xvi. 4; xxi. 19; xxii. 38; 2 Kings ix. 10, 36; Jer. xv. 3; Ps. lix. 6), and thus became such objects of dislike that fierce and truel enemies are poetically styled dogs in Ps. xxii. 16, 20." The dog, moreover, was an unclean animal; dogs, therefore, are represented as outside the city, because nothing unclean is allowed to enter. The sins enumerated here are similar to those mentioned in the last chapter (verse 8); it is the reiteration, therefore, of the warning that those who would enter in must break off their sins by righteousness.

(16) I Jesus have sent mine angel -The warning is followed by the voice of our Lord Himself testifying to the truth of the revelation made, I Jesus sent (not "have sent," as in the English version) my angel to testify to you these things to the churches. But it is not merely a message, or the confirmation of a message that we have-we have also stated what Christ is the root and pledge of hope to all. I am the root and offspring of David, and the star, the bright, the morning (star). He is David's Lord and David's Son,

The Final Warning.

man

whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (18) For I testify unto every man that heareth Chap. xxii. 18, the words of the prophecy 19. The final of this book, If any warning. shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (19) and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (20) He which testifieth these

possessing David's throne (Matt. xxii. 42-45; Luke i. 32); He is the bright star which leads up the dawn of everlasting day (Mal. iv. 2; 2 Pet. i. 19).

(17) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come -The cry of all creation is for its true Lord; the cry of the Spirit in prophecies and in the hearts of God's people is for the coming Lord-the bride waiting for the bridegroom cries "Come." The Apocalypse is the book of the coming One; it ends with the cry that the coming One would come (comp. verse 20); but let those who thirst for His coming come to Him. We may draw near to Him, who is drawing near to us: let him that thirsteth, come; let him that will take the water of life freely. (Comp. John vii. 37.) "The power of the whole gospel," says Bengel, "concentrates itself in this, that one should be able to respond to this Come, and repeat it from the heart."

(18-19) I testify unto every man that heareth.— Omit "For," and read, I testify to every one that hears The "I" is emphatic; it introduces the final warning; the revelation must not be tampered with. If any one shall have added to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book; and if any one shall have taken away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his portion from the tree of life, and out of the holy city which are written (or printed) in this book. We may compare Dent. iv. 2, and xii. 32. The words are a solemn protest against the spirit which handles rashly or deceitfully the word of God; which adds its own thoughts, or makes its wishes the parent of its interpretations; which dilutes the force of its warnings, or impoverishes the fulness of its promises. The right of continual access to the tree of life was the promise of verse 14; this right or freedom is forfeited by those who deal falsely or faithlessly by the words of Christ here. In a minor degree, it is true that those who leave this book unstudied and unprayed over, lose much spiritual sustenance and comfort. How much more do they lose who trifle with it, ignore its spiritual teachings, and sin against the laws of that kingdom whose progress it so vividly portrays.

(20) He which testifieth these things Better, He saith, who testifieth these things, Yea, I am coming quickly. We have here the final witness; it is in the words of the faithful and true witness Himself. It is the answer to the repeated cry, "Come;" it is the warning to those who forget Him; it is introduced with the emphatic yea! "Yea, I am coming quickly." The answer breaks forth in prayer from the prophet's lips-Amen. (We must omit "even so") Come, Lord Jesus. The prophet is the mouthpiece of the Church;

The final Witness.

The final Blessing.

Chap. xxii. 20. things saith, Surely I come The final wit- quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (21) The

ness.

his desire is one with the desire of all who love Christ's appearing.

(21) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is some variety of reading among the MSS. We ought probably to read, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all (or else, following the Sinaitic MS., be with the saints). Amen. In any case, it is the grace or free pardon of the Lord Jesus which is the last word left in our ears. It reminds us that whatever be the dangers or difficulties, the afflictions or persecutions which have been pictured in the book, there is strength and love in the Lord; it reminds us that whether we are readers or interpreters of this book, or whether we are trying to carry out its teachings practically in daily life, our power and wisdom must come from Him. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Without Him it had not been written; without Him it cannot be understood; without Him it cannot be obeyed. This grace of Christ our Lord, for mind and heart and life, the writer prays may rest with those who read this Commentary, that they may be led into deeper knowledge of Him who is our life.

grace of our Lord Jesus Chap. xxii. 21.
The final bles-
Christ be with you all. sing.
Amen.

The writer asks the reader to pray that this grace of
Christ may rest in forgiveness and love upon him
who has now finished his task of commenting on this
book, whose hidden meanings must far transcend our
knowledge and our expectations. May He (He alone
can) open our eyes to see the shining towers of the
Heavenly Jerusalem; may He unseal our ears to hear
the heavenly music to which it is being built; may He
bind us by His love to that sweet service and citizen-
ship which is perfect freedom, and bring us to that
spiritual city which is full of divine enchantments-
"For there is nothing in it as it seems

Saving the King; though some there be that hold
The King a shadow, and the city real;
Yet take thou heed of Him, for, so thou pass
Beneath this archway, then wilt thou become
A thrall to His enchantments, for the King
Will bind thee by such vows as is a shame
A man should not be bound by, yet the which
No man can keep; but so thou dread to swear,
Pass not beneath this gateway, but abide
Without among the cattle of the field.
For, an ye heard a music, like enow
They are building still, seeing the city is built
To music, therefore never built at all,
And therefore built for ever."

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THE most usual interpretation regards the angels of the churches as the chief ministers or presiding elders of the congregations. This interpretation is so very widely adopted that it has been mentioned in the Notes; but the reader will have perceived that it is not a view which can be considered altogether satisfactory. In the first place, whatever date we accept for the Apocalypse, it is at least strange to find the titles," elders" or bishops," which were in common use exchanged for the doubtful one of "angel." A common explanation is that the term is derived from the synagogue staff, where the messenger or angel of the synagogue was a recognised office; but the transference of such a title to any office in the Christian Church is at least doubtful, and as the officer so styled was only a subordinate in the synagogue, a clerk" or "precentor" to conduct the devotions of the worshippers, it becomes very improbable that such a term or title would have been employed to describe the presiding elder of a Christian Church. Turning to the Old Testament, it is true that the word "angel" is used in a higher sense (Hagg. i. 13; Mal. ii. 7), being employed to describe the messengers of God; but the usage here is different. "It is conceivable, indeed, that a bishop or chief pastor should be called an angel, or messenger of God, or of Christ, but he would hardly be styled an angel of the church over which he presides." (Lightfoot, Epistle to the Philippians, p. 197, note.) Thus the interpretation under consideration appears scarcely satisfactory.

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Others have thought the word " angel" is not to be applied to the individual presiding elder, but to the whole ministry of the Church, treated as one. This view, though in some senses approaching nearer to the truth, can hardly be sustained without considerable modification. Others, again, fall back upon Jewish authorities, and see in the angels the guardian angels of the churches. "In Daniel every nation has its ruling angel; and, according to the Rabbins, an angel is placed over every people." The angel, then, would be a literal, real angel, who has the guardianship of the church in question. In popular thought, then, the angel would be one of the good angelic beings whose special duty it was to bear up the church during its trials, by such providential ministries as were needed and ordered. There are some difficulties in accepting this interpretation. In particular the language of rebuke which is addressed directly to the angel himself the threatening to remove his candlestick, for example-sounds meaningless.

But here it is that we may inquire whether the angel of a particular community, nation, or people is to be understood always of a good and powerful being sent forth by the Almighty to love and watch over it. It is believed that this view does not satisfy the case. It is certain that Daniel represents the guardian angels of nations as opposed to each other, and not co-operating always for the same great and good end. "The prince

:

(guardian angel) of the kingdom of Persia withstood me," is the language addressed to Daniel by him whose face was like lightning (Dan. x. 13). (Compare also verses 20, 21, and Dr. Currey's Notes in the Speaker's Commentary on these passages.) Such passages seem to suggest that the "angels" are the powers in the spiritual sphere corresponding to the peoples or communities in the earthly; and these may be on the side of evil or of good. Next, it may be noticed that the action of these angels in the spiritual sphere seems to be the reflection of the action of the community or people in the earthly. If the church at Ephesus has left its first love, the angel is spoken of as sharing the same fault. The influences seen on the spiritual side correspond with those at work in the actual earthly community. The angel of the church or of the individual thus becomes their manifestation in the heavenly sphere. For all our life is thus double; our actions have an earthly meaning, and also a heavenly; what they touch of worldly interests gives them their earthly meaning. what they touch of spiritual welfare is their heavenly meaning. Like the planets, we lie half in shadow and half in light from the earthly side the worldmeaning of our actions lies in the light, and their spiritual value or force is only dimly seen, as it lies in at least partial shadow; but seen from the heavenly side the position is reversed, the worldly significance of human actions is cast into comparative shade, the actual spiritual influences of them are brought into clear light; and it is the spiritual significance of our actions which reveals what we are; in this is concentrated the true force which we are exerting. from the heavenly side, the angel of our life mingles in the great spiritual war, and takes its part as a combatant there; while, on the earthly side, we are seen carrying on our daily occupations. Measured on the earthly side the balance is not struck; there is inconsistency in us; we are partly good and partly bad, sometimes helping, sometimes hindering the work of God on earth, as we judge; but the actual resultant of these inconsistent powers is seen in the heavenly sphere, either helping or thwarting the cause of good. Thus are we double combatants-in the world, for our livelihood, for our ease, for our advancement; in the heavenly, for good or for evil. And it is on the spiritual side that we lie open to spiritual influences; here, where our true self is seen more clearly than anywhere else, are the appeals to our better nature, as we say, most powerful; here, He who holds the stars in His right hand, makes His voice to be heard when He addresses, not merely the church or the individual, but the angel of the church; here, He calls them to see that there is a war in heaven, in which all are combatants, but in which He is the Captain of our salvation. Here too, on the heavenly side, are the wounds of the spiritual and better nature more plainly seen; the offence or blow given to the little one of

Seen