“Revelation” — The Veil Rolled Aside.
The book was written and the visions seen by the beloved John in the island of Patmos about A.D. 96.
Two Parts
The book is in two distinct and equal parts.
1. From Revelation 1 to Revelation 11:1818And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18), in which the general condition of things and events is prophetically sketched from the close of the first Christian century till the introduction of the eternal state. Compare “the time of the dead that they should be judged” (Rev. 11:1818And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (Revelation 11:18)) with “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before the throne” (Rev. 20:1212And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:12)).
Three Divisions
The threefold division of the prophecy is noted in Revelation 1:1919Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; (Revelation 1:19). This verse is the key to the interpretation and understanding of the book. It contains a past, a present, and a future.
1. “Write the things which thou host seen.” This constitutes a vision by itself, comprised within verses 10-18, in which Christ in the midst of the seven golden lamp-stands is the central object. PAST.
3. “Write the things... which shall be hereafter,” or after these things. This division commences with Revelation 4, and runs on to Revelation 22:55And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:5). This is essentially the prophetic part of the book. FUTURE. The Seals, Trumpets, and Vials; Babylon, the Marriage, the Reign, and so forth, are each and all FUTURE.
Twelve Sections
There are twelve sections into which the whole contents of the Apocalypse is distributed, and which if carefully noted and mastered will greatly facilitate the study of the book.
1. A general introduction, Revelation 1:1-91The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 2Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 3Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; 5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. 9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1‑9).
2. Christ in judicial glory in the midst of the seven Asiatic Churches, Revelation 1:10-1810I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, 11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:10‑18).
3. The Church in profession as God’s witness on earth. Her growing departure from love and truth, Revelation 2-3.
5. The seven Seals successively opened by the Lamb, Revelation 6, 8:1. The Revelation 7 is a parenthetical one of deep interest.
6. The seven Trumpets successively 8:2, 11:18. Here the revived Roman empire is in the forefront in these judgment prophecies.
7. Three Sources (Rev. 12), two Actors (Rev. 13), and seven Results (Rev. 14), Revelation 12-14.
8. The seven Vials of God’s wrath successively poured out, Revelation 15-16. The closing dealings of God upon the empire, Israel, and the earth.
9. Babylon, the mystical, in her political and ecclesiastical associations, and utter destruction, Revelation 17-18.
10. Chronological sequence from the fall of Babylon till the eternal state, opening with rejoicing in Heaven, and closing with a picture of eternal misery in the Lake of Fire, Revelation 19, 21:8.
12. Warnings, threatenings, and encouragements, Revelation 22:6-216And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. 7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 8And 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 showed me these things. 9Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. 10And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11He 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. 12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. 16I 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. 17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 18For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19And 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. 20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:6‑21).
Chronological Order
Revelation 2 and 3 unfold the moral history of the Church in successive periods of her history, from the close of the first Christian century to its final rejection. Then Revelation 4 and 5 are chronological in so far that Heaven and not earth is the scene of action, the heavenly saints having been removed to their home above. The fact of the Rapture is not mentioned in the Apocalypse, but assumed as having taken place in the time between Revelation 3 and 4. Paul unfolds the Rapture, John follows on assuming it has occurred. We place, therefore, the Rapture of the saints after the Church ruin shown in Revelation 3, and before the glory witnessed in Revelation 4.
The history on earth is then resumed from the close of Revelation 3, but it is the history of the apostate world-Israel, the revived Roman empire, and Christendom generally. This will be found in Revelation 6; 8; 9; 11:14-18; 15:5; 16:21; 19:11; 21:8.
Parenthetic Portions
There are six distinctly marked parentheses in the book, which are as follows:
1. Revelation 7, between the sixth and seventh SEALS.
2. Revelation 10, 11:1-13, between the sixth and seventh TRUMPETS.
3. Revelation 11:19; 15:1-419And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19)
1And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:1‑4), between the sounding of the seventh trumpet and the pouring out of the bowls of wrath.
5. Revelation 16:13-1613And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelation 16:13‑16), between the sixth and seventh VIALS.
6. Revelation 17-19; 1-10, between the pouring out of the seventh Vial and the personal advent of the Lord in power and glory.
Revelation 21:9; 22:1-59And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. (Revelation 21:9)
1And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1‑5), between the description of the eternal state and the concluding section of the book. The longest parenthesis is the third in which the hidden sources of good and evil are disclosed (Rev. 12), the agents and chief instruments of evil named (Rev. 13), and the results in grace and judgment fully stated (Rev. 14).
General Notes
The strictly prophetic part of the book commences with Revelation 6 and concludes with verse 5 of Revelation 22.
The chronological events under the Seals, Trumpets, and Vials transpire after the Rapture and before the Appearing in glory. It will be impossible to understand the Revelation if this is not clearly seen.
No date can be fixed for the opening of the Seals. The Roman empire may be forming while the Seals are being opened one by one. The empire is not recognized as existing under the Seals. It may be that under the throes of the sixth Seal (Rev. 6:12-1712And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? (Revelation 6:12‑17)) the empire emerges out of the general chaos, but we cannot pronounce with certainty.
The first four Trumpets (Rev. 8) specially concern the Roman world. The three “Woe” Trumpets announce judgment respectively upon apostate Israel, apostate Christendom, and upon the guilty world. The Trumpets succeed the Seals, and the Vials succeed the Trumpets. The Seal judgments are comparatively light but widespread, with but one exception (Rev. 6:88And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:8)). The trumpet-chastisements are heavier in character; the first four are more limited in extent, while the three last are “woe”—judgments.
The martyred company of Judah on the glassy sea harping and singing are noted in Revelation 14:2; 15:2-42And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: (Revelation 14:2)
2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Revelation 15:2‑4).
The preserved company of Judah on Mount Zion alone can learn the song of their brethren above, Revelation 14:1-51And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. 2And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: 3And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. 4These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. (Revelation 14:1‑5).
The sealed company of Israel (Rev. 7) are not said to emerge out of the Tribulation, and are a distinct company from that of Revelation 14. The hundred and forty-four thousand of Revelation 7 are of all Israel, whereas the hundred and forty-four thousand of Revelation 14 are of Judah only.
The apostate part of Israel is specially in view in Revelation 9:1-111And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. 3And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. 5And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man. 6And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. 7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 8And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. 9And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. 10And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:1‑11). Thus all Israel is fully accounted for.