(14) Christ's Kingdom. The third leading di vision of the book reaches from chaps. xx to xxii : 6, inclusive. This is the only portion that stretches to a period far remote from the time of the writer. It is added to complete the delineation of Christ's kingdom on earth. Though his main design was accomplished in the preceding chapters, John was reluctant, so to speak, to leave the sublime theme without glancing at distant times, when the triumphs of righteousness should be still more marked and diffusive, when Satan's power should be remarkably restrained, and the last great con flict of heathen and antichristian power with the Redeemer should terminate forever the church's existence on earth ; ushering in the genera) judg ment, the everlasting woe of the wicked, and the glorified state of the righteous. Here the writer's sketches are brief and rapid. But when we con sider the place in which they are introduced, the inconceivable nature of the happiness referred to, and the tendency of minds the most Christianized to attach sensuous ideas to figures descriptive of everlasting misery and endless felicity, their brev ity is amply justified. A glorious period now commences, but how long after the preceding events is not affirmed. That a considerable inter val may be assumed we deduce from the descrip tion itself. Satan is bound, or his influences re strained. a thousand years throughout the seat of the beast. Christianity is spread abroad and pre vails in the Roman empire. But after the thou sand years are expired, Satan is set free and bc gins again to practice his deceptions. He incites Gog and Magog to battle. The camp of the saints and the beloved city arc invaded by the assem bled hosts. But fire from heaven devours the adversaries, while the devil is again taken and east into the lake of fire. After this (how long is unknown) conies the general resurrection, the last judgment, and the doom of the wicked. For the righteous a new heaven and a new earth are pre pared, in which they shall be perfectly free from sin and corruption. With this the visions end, and an epilogue closes up the book.
From the preceding outline it will be seen that the body of the work consists of three leading divisions, in which are portrayed the proceedings of God towards the Jews ; the rise and progress of the Christian church, till through much strug gling it possessed the Roman empire, partly by converting and partly destroying the heathen ; the millennium, succeeded by the resurrection and judgment, and the glorious felicity of the saints in the heavenly Jerusalem.
(15) Varied Interpretations. In this sum mary view of the contents, it has been found in convenient to introduce anything in the way of exposition beyond general remarks and hints. As to diversities of sentiment in regard to the inter pretation of different portions, our limits will not admit of their statement, much less an examina tion of their respective merit.
In opposition to the majority of German writers, as Bleek, Schott, Liicke, Ewald, De \Vette, and others, the existence of a catastrophe at the ter mination of the eleventh chapter has been as sumed. A primary reason for doing so is the mention of great thunderings (voices) in heaven (xi:15), which are always the emblems of fearful judgments. Accordingly, in the parallel phrase
(x :3), it is said that seven thunders uttered their voices, denoting the signal and complete blow about to be inflicted on Jerusalem—the destruc tion consummated in the third and last woe (xi : 14). In like manner, at the destruction of heathen Rome there were 'voices and thunders and light nings' (xvi :18). It were useless to recount the different expositions of chap. xvii :to. We have adopted the only one that appears to be tenable in connection with the surrounding context. Liicke's view is the most plausible, and has there fore gained the assent of Neander, Reuss, and others. Hug's must be regarded as unfortunate.
(16) The Millennium. The position of the Millennium is a matter of great difficulty. Pro fessor Bush contends that it should be regarded as commencing somewhere between A. D. 395 and A. D. 45o, and terminating not far from the cap ture of Constantinople by the Turks, A. D. 1453. Not very dissimilar is the opinion of Hammond, viz., that the period in question reaches from Con stantine's edict in favor of Christianity to the planting of Mohammedanism in Greece by Oth man. In either case the Millennium is past. To the hypothesis so ably by Bush we hesitate to accede, because the description given in the twentieth chapter is extravagantly figurative as appropriated to any period of the church's history already past ; and also because his interpretation of the dragon appears inconsistent with the second verse of the twentieth chapter. According to this ingenious writer, the dragon is the mystic name of Paganism in its leading character of idolatry and despotism combined, an hypothesis apparently countenanced by the twelfth chapter, which the reader is requested to examine. But it will be observed that in the twentieth chap ter. the beast and the false prophet are expressly distinguished from the dragon ; so that by the dragon Satan 'alone must be meant as distinct from the civil and ecclesiastical power of heathen im perial Rome. The beast had been already cast into the lake before Satan was thrown into the same place, and by the former is obviously meant the civil despotism of Paganism (see MILLENNIUM).
(17) The New Heavens and the New Earth. In regard to the period described in Rev. xxi, xxii, denoted by the new heavens and the new earth, we are quite aware of the opinion main tained by Hammond, Hug, Bush, and others, viz., that it comprises an earthly flourishing state of the church. Yet we must freely confess, notwith standing the very able manner in which it has been advocated by Bush, that there is a degree of un satisfactoriness about it. The parallelism insti tuted between John's description and Isaiah liv :II, 12 ; lx :3-11 ; lxv :17, i8, 19, 2o, is striking, but not demonstrative of that for which it is instituted. The imagery indeed is substantially the same, and probably the New Testament seer imitated Isaiah: but the strain of the former rises far higher than the sublime vision depicted by the ancient prophet.