(5) Opening of the Seals. The opening of the first six seals. Before the opening of the seventh. are scaled out of the tribes of the children of Israel, and an innumerable multitude with palms in their hands are seen before the throne.
(6) Sounding of the Trumpets. After the opening of the seventh the catastrophe is delayed by the sounding of seven trumpets, the first six of which cause great plagues and hasten on the judg ment. Yet, before the last trumpet sounds, a mighty angel, with a rainbow round his head, ap pears with an open book in his hand, announcing that the mystery, of God should be finished when the seventh angel should begin to sound. On this he gives the book to the seer, commanding him to eat it up, and to prophesy hereafter concerning many people. countries, and kings. After this the interior of the temple, with its Jewish worshipers, is measured by the prophet, while the outer court is excepted and given over to the heathen for the space of forty-two months. But, notwithstanding the long-suffering mercy of God, the Jews con tinue to persecute the faithful witnesses, so that they are punished by the fall of a tenth part of the holy city in an earthquake. Hence, seven thou sand men perish, and the remainder, affrighted. give glory to God. After this the seventh angel sounds, and the Lord appears, to inflict the final blow on Jerusalem and its inhabitants. The catas trophe takes place; the heavenly choir gives thanks to God for the victory of Christianity; and the temple of God is opened in heaven, so that he is accessible to all, being disclosed to the view of the whole earth as their God, without the inter vention of priest or solemnity, as in the abrogated economy. Thus the Jewish ritual is done away; the Jews as a nation of persecutors are destroyed, and free scope is given to the new religion.
(7) Downfall of Jerusalem. This portion, therefore, of the prophetic book depicts the down fall of Jerusalem. and the triumph of Christianity over Judaism. The Son of Man came in fearful majesty to punish the guilty nation, as had been predicted.
We are aware that some deny the existence of a catastrophe in the eleventh chapter. Schott says that it is procrastinated, although the reader here expects it. But Grotius long ago saw the point in its true light, and remarked: 'Solet apostoliis male gravia brevibus verbis, sed cfficacibus, prx terveln, bona eloqui liberaliser.'
The twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, with the corresponding paragraphs of the other two Gos pels, treats of the same subject, though in much briefer compass. It may be regarded as the groundwork of chapters iv-xi of the Apocalypse, and should be carefully compared by the inter preter.
(8) Sufferings of the Church. The second division (chaps. xii-xix) depicts the sufferings in flicted on the church by the heathen Roman power, and the triumph of Christianity over this formid able enemy also. Here the writer has special ref erence to the cruel Nero. as chap. xvii:to. is, which can only he consistently interpreted of him, demonstrates. This part commences with a de scription of the Savior's birth, who is represented as springing from the theocracy or theocratic church, and of Satan's malignity against him. Cast out of heaven by Michael and the good angels, Satan turns his rage upon the followers of Christ on earth. Hitherto there is no account of the Romish persecuting power: and it is an inquiry worthy of attention, why John commences with the birth of the Savior and Satan's opposition to the early church, thus reverting to a period prior to that which had been gone over already. Why does not the seer carry on the series of symbolic predictions from the destruction of the Jewish power? Why does he not commence at a point where, in the preceding chapter, 'he had left off? The question is not easily answered. It cannot well be doubted that the brief notice of the Savior's birth, and of Satan's unsuccessful at tempt upon heaven and the holy child is merely introductory to the proper subject. Perhaps John carries the reader back to the origin of Chris tianity, when Satan was peculiarly active, in order to link his malignant opposition as embodied in the persecuting violence of heathen Rome, to his unceasing attacks upon the truth even from the very birth of Christ. This would serve to keep up in the reader's recollection the memory of Satan's past opposition to religion, and also pre pare for a readier apprehension of symbols de scriptive of his further malevolence. The second part therefore begins, properly speaking, with the thirteenth chapter, the twelfth being simply pre paratory.