θαλάσσης, τὸν δὲ εὐώνυμον ἐπὶ τῆς 3 γῆς. Καὶ ἔκραξε φωνῇ μεγάλη, ὥσε περ λέων μυκᾶται καὶ ὅτε ἔκραξεν, ἐλά λησαν αἱ ἑπτὰ βροναὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν 4 φωνάς. Καὶ ὅτε ἐλάλησαν αἱ ἁπλὰ βρολαί, ἔμελλον γράφειν· καὶ ἤκεσα φωνὴν ἐκ τῇ ἐξανα λέγεσάν Σφράγι σον ἃ ἐλάλησαν αἱ ἑπτὰ βρονιαὶ, καὶ μὴ ταῦτα γράψης 5 Καὶ ὁ ἄγγελος, ὃν εἶδον ἑςῶτα ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἦρε τὴν χεῖρα αὑτῷ τὴν δεξιὼν εἰς τὸν ἐρα 6 τὸν, Καὶ ὤμοσεν ἐν τῷ ζῶνι εἰς τὰς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ὃς ἔκλισε τὸν ἐρανὸν | καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ, ὅτι χρόνος 7 ἐκ ἔτι ἔςαι. ̓Αλλὰ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς And when he had cried, the seven thunders uttered their 4 voices. And when the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to write ; and I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Seal up those (6 things which the se ven thunders spake, "and write them not." 5 And the angel, whom I saw standing upon the sea and upon the land, lifted up his right hand toward heaven, 6 And sware by Him, who liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven and the things therein, and the land and the things therein, and the sea and the things therein, that time shall be no more, 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh | angel, when he is about to sound, and the mystery of God was finished, as he hath declared good tidings to his servants the prophets. 8 And the voice, which I had heard from heaven, spake unto me again, and said, "Go, "take the little book, "which is opened in EE 2 roareth and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their 4 voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and 5 write them not. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea, and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 And sware by Him that liveth for ever and ever, 7 no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. 8 And the voice which I heard from heaven, spake unto me again, and said, Go, and take δελες της τροφής 8 τας. Καὶ ἡ φωνὴ, ἣν ήκεσα ἐκ τῶ ἐρανό, πάλιν λα λύσα μεν ἐμᾶς καὶ λέγεσαι "Υπαε, λάβε τὸ βιβλαρίδιον τὸ ἠνεωμένον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ ἀγέλα το ἑςῶτος ἐπὶ τῆς θα λάσσης καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Ο γῆς. Καὶ ἀπῆλθον πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον, λέγων αὐτῷ δυναί μοι τὸ βιβλαρίδιον. Καὶ ' λέγει μοι Λάβε και καλάφατε αὐτός καὶ πικρανεῖ σε τὴν κοιλίαν, ἀλλ ̓ ἐν τῷ σόματί σε ἔςαι γλυκὺ, ὡς μέλι. 10 Καὶ ἔλαβον τὸ βιο βλαρίδιον ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς τῇ ἀγγέλω, 11 με. προφηλεῦσαι ἐπὶ λα οἷς καὶ ἔθνεσι καὶ γλώσσαις καὶ βασιλεῦσι πολλοῖς. upon the sea and upon the eat it up; and it "shall imbitter thy "stomach; but in thy "mouth shall be sweet 10" as honey." And I took the little book from the hand of the angel, and ate it up. And it was in my mouth sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach 11 imbittered. And he saith unto me, σε Thou "must prophesy again "before many people, was gel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was 11 bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. In the 13th verse of the viiith chapter, three grand woes, three distinct periods of successful attack upon the Church, by the Antichristian powers, are` announced. 5 nounced. The first of these immediately takes place, and is afterwards described as past*; and the second follows: but this, though it begins, like the first, with an hostile invasion, does not end in like manner. No period (as, in the first, of 150 years) is assigned for its continuance; and when the description of the invasion seems to be finished, no like notice is given, that the woe is ended; on the contrary, it seems to continue till the seventh Trumpet sounds; then, and not till then, it is declared to be gone †. The prophecy had now begun to appear as drawing to its close; the seventh and last Trumpet was expected. But a new and enlarging scene opens under the sixth Trumpet, and before the end of the second woe. The famous period of forty-two months, or 1260 days, is now presented to view. The usurped dominion of the Mahometans, disclosed in the sixth Trumpet, is continued throughout. But there is another Antichristian usurpation, which belongs to the same period, and which is to be produced, as cotemporary with it. Ver. 1-3. Another mighty angel; &c.] The sublimity of this passage made an early impression upon the poetical mind of Sir William Jones: and "at a "period of mature judgment," says his biographer, "he considered it as equal in sublimity to any in the 66 inspired writers, and far superior to any that could "be produced from mere human compositions." This angel, although displaying superior glory and power, is not our Lord Jesus Christ, who appears in this part of the vision, not as an angel, but as the Lamb. Lord Teignmouth's Life of Sir William Jones, 4to. p. 14. See note, ch. i. 14, 16. (Ch. (Ch. xiv. i.) he is described to be another angel. Such another angel had been before seen officiating in the presence of the Lamb*. He is an angel of the highest dignity, invested with a most important commission; to convey to Saint John, and to the Church, a large amount of prophetical information. For this purpose, he holds in his hand a little book; not little in respect to its contents, which are of the highest importance, but with a view to the purpose for which it was designed; to be eaten and digested by the prophet. The book is open, unsealed; by our Lord's merits it had become sot; for, it was probably a part, or transcript, of the larger sealed book; because it comes under the opening of the sixth and seventh Seals, which are part of the contents of that book. It may be the same also with that part of the prophecy of Daniel which was in his time sealed for a very distant period; a period which will be seen to have relation to these times of the apocalyptic visions. Ver. 2. And he set his right foot upon the sea; &c.] In the scene before the prophet, the heavens, containing God's throne, and his altar, and surrounding ministers, are above. The earth is beneath, not hanging like an orb or ball §, but extended in a plain, and containing the divisions, before marked, of land, of sea, of rivers. The angel descends from heaven above, and takes his station on the earth, placing one of his gigantic feet on the sea, the other on the land. The Eastern nations, expressed by the division of the land, had been hitherto the principal scene of action under this Trumpet. * Ch. vii. 2. and again viii. 3. The angel's + See note, ch. v. 9. Dan. xii. 4. 9. § Cicero, Somn. Scip. See note, ch. viii. 7. placing 66 placing one foot on the sea, seems to intimate that the Western nations of the Gentiles*, are to be an object of the remaining prophecy. And this is also expressed in ver. 11: he is "to prophesy before many people, and nations, and languages, and kings." It may be observed also, that the first, the right, or principal foot of the angel descends upon the sea, which seems to imply that the part of the Christian world, represented by the sea, is now to be principally concerned. Ver. 4. The seven thunders.] The whole Prophecy is delivered under seven Seals, seven Trumpets, seven Vials 1. In this passage, a particular prophecy, or perhaps seven distinct prophecies, are uttered by seven voices, loud as thunder, aweful, and terrible as that of the lion-like voice of the angel which introduces them. But whatsoever intelligence the prophet might receive from this Divine communication, he is for bidden to disclose it. Thus, events of great import, belonging to the history of this Seal and Trumpet, are not revealed in this prophecy. What these were, it is certainly difficult, and may be presumptuous, to conjecture. But we may safely collect from this transaction, that many important events, perhaps recorded in history, are not disclosed. And we obtain herewith an additional confirmation of the notion already suggested, that this sixth Trumpet contains a period of long continuance. Ver. 5. Lifted up his right hand.] The angel takes a solemn oath, in a form of Scriptural antiquity . This mode of swearing has descended even unto our own times and nation, being still used in Scotland, *Note, ch. viii. 8. † Note, ch. i. 4. ↑ Gen. xiv. 22. Deut. xxxii. 40. Ezek. xx. 5. Is. lxii. S. and |