458. καὶ ἐγένοντο φωναὶ μεγάλαι ἐν τῷ ἐρανῷ, λέγοντες· Εγένετο ἡ βασιλέα τε κόσμε, τῇ Κυρίς ἡμῶν, καὶ τὰ Χρισᾶ αὐτῷ, καὶ βασιλεύσει εἰς τὰς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. 16. Καὶ οἱ ἔκοσι [καὶ] τέσσαρες πρεσβύτεροι οἱ ἐνώπιον τῇ ΘεΞ κάθηναι ἐπὶ τὲς θρόνες αὑτῶν, ἔπεσαν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν, καὶ προσεκύνησαν τῷ Θεῷ, 17. λέγοντες· Εὐχαρις μέν σοι, Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς ὁ παν]οκράτωρ, ὁ ὢν, καὶ ὁ ἦν, [καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος· ] ὅτι ἔληφας τὴν δύναμίν σε τὴν μεγάλην, καὶ ἐβασίλευσας. Ο 18. Καὶ τὰ ἔθνη ὠργίσθησαν, καὶ ἦλθεν ἡ ὀργή σε· καὶ ὁ καιρὸς τῶν νεκρῶν, κριθῆ ναι, καὶ δῆναι τὸν μισθὸν τοῖς δέλοις σε τοῖς προφήταις, καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις καὶ τοῖς φοβεμένοις τὸ ὄνομά σε, τοῖς μικροῖς καὶ τοῖς μεγάλοις· καὶ διαφθείραι τὰς διαφθεί ρονας τὴν γῆν. 19. Καὶ ἠνοίγη ὁ ναὸς τῇ Θεᾶ ἐν τῷ ἐρανῷ, καὶ ὤφθη ἡ κιβωλὸς τῆς διαθήκης αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ ναῷ αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐγένοντο ἀςραπαὶ εν και καὶ φωναὶ καὶ βρον]αὶ καὶ σεισμὸς, καὶ χάλαζα μεγάλη. 15. And the feventh Angel founded, and there were great voices in the heaven, faying, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Anointed; and He fball reign THROUGH THE AIONS OF AIONS. 16. And the four-and-twenty elders (or nobles *, and first born), who were fitting be fore * It is very strange indeed, and a most astonishing inftance of human perverseness, that the words elders, firft born, and elect, (ufed in Holy Scripture,) fhould have become words of contempt, in the apprehenfion of several modern writers; and a ground for blafphemous reproaches against the word of God, and against the servants of God: when, in fact, thofe words (expreffing degrees of dignity in heaven, and in a future ftate,) are manifeftly most confiftent with, as well as used in perfect conformity to, the ideas to which we are moft accustomed in this world. For elders means plainly thofe who are of the first and most ancient origin, and who can trace and fhew a descent before and beyond others; which is exactly agreeable to our idea on earth, of being of the first families. First born as plainly denotes the being first produced, or being the eldest branch of any rank or eftate; which is also confonant to the idea of being the head of any family. And elect means, as clearly, the having an advantage given to any one, and a certain dignity bestowed upon any one, for wife and good reasons, and from fufficient motives, by the 459. fore God, upon their thrones, fell down upon their faces and worshipped God. 17. Saying, We give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, O God, O Thou Who haft universal dominion, Who now exifteft, and Who waft, and Who art ftill to come! because Thou haft effectually affumed Thy great power, and haft SHEWN THY MIGHT IN REIGNING. 18. For truly the nations have raged, and THY anger [alfo] is come; and the TIME OF THE DEAD to be judged, and to give the reward to thy fervants the Prophets, and to THOSE WHO ARE BECOME] HOLY, and to those who fear Thy Name, both to the Small and to the great; and to spoil those who Spoil the earth. 19. And the temple of God in Heaven was opened, and there appeared the Ark of His covenant in HIS TEMPLE; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and A GREAT HAIL. the Great Ruling Power, who is the fole proper Judge whom to call forth to eminence for the best advantage of the whole. Every one of these words, therefore, really imply distinctions of true and everlasting nobility : and if there is any opportunity poffible for fcoffing, it is only because things earthly are not worthy to be compared with things heavenly. And And to these words we ought also to fub- 460. join what is faid, Revelations, ch. x. ver. 7. 7. ̓Αλλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς φωνῆς τῆ ἑβδόμω ἀγγέλω, ὅταν μέλλη σαλπίζειν, καὶ τελέσθη τὸ μυςήριον τ8 Θε8, ὡς εὐηγγέλισε τὲς δέλες αὐτᾶ τὲς προφήτας. 7. But in the days of the voice of the SEVENTH ANGEL, when he shall be about to found, THEN ALSO THE MYSTERY OF GOD SHALL HAVE BEEN FINISHED *, according to the GOOD NEWS which He has declared to His fervants the Prophets. Such is the description given of what shall happen on the founding of the Seventh Trumpet. And, on reading this, it is, one would think, almost impoffible to avoid perceiving the ftrong analogy there is between these emble * This may appear rather a fingular mode of expreffion in our own language; but I take this to be the exact translation of the Aoriftus primus paffive in this place. Perhaps it may not be impertinent, on this occafion, to refer those who do not immediately recollect the great nicety of this tenfe to the Note in Ward's Inftitutio Græcæ, &c. p. 42. matical I CANNOT help obferving, in the conclufion of these remarks, that the very words fo fingularly introduced at the first beginning of this Book of the Revelations, chap. i. ver. 3, fhew us plainly, that the emblems under the First Seal could not relate to any events (however recent) such as that of the deftruction of Jerufalem, and the conquests of Vefpafian and Titus, that were paft at the time of the delivery of the prophecy; and that they therefore must have related only to events that were to begin to take place almost immediately after this Divine information was communicated to mankind. 462. Which circumftance manifeftly confines the interpretation of the emblem under the Firft Seal to the reign of Trajan. For the words are: 3. Μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων, καὶ οἱ ακέοντες τες λόγες τῆς προφητείας, καὶ τηρῶντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ γεγραμμένα· ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγούς. 3. Bleffed is he that readeth, (or rightly apprehendeth,) and they that hear the words of the Prophecy, and obferve the things written in it. For the time is at hand. Such an expreffion and declaration cannot well be fuppofed to relate to the full accomplishment of the final end of the Prophecy, (which is not come to pafs even yet, after fo many hundred years elapfed,) whatever diftinctions may be made concerning a thousand years being moft truly in the fight of God only as one day : neither can they relate to the whole of the period of time which the events defcribed in the Prophecy were to take up ; for that was to be fo very long, that even 1260 years |