Chapter 11:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGee
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Jude Genesis
Revelation 11
In this chapter is shown how it will fare with "the holy city,"
till the mystery of God is fulfilled; in the twelfth, what will befall
the woman, who is delivered of the man-child; in the thirteenth,
how it will be with the kingdom of Christ, while the "two beasts"
are in the height of their power. And there was given me - By
Christ, as appears from the third verse. And he said, Arise -
Probably he was sitting to write. And measure the temple of God -
At Jerusalem, where he was placed in the vision. Of this we have
a large description by Ezekiel, Ezek. xl - xlviii; concerning which
we may observe,
1. Ezekiel's prophecy was not fulfilled at the return from the
Babylonish captivity.
2. Yet it does not refer to the "New Jerusalem," which is far more
gloriously described.
3. It must infallibly be fulfilled even then "when they are ashamed
of all that they have done," Ezek. xliii, 11.
4. Ezekiel speaks of the same temple which is treated of here.
5. As all things are there so largely described, St. John is shorter
and refers thereto.
Verse 2. But the court which is without the temple - The old temple had
a court in the open air, for the heathens who worshipped the God
of Israel. Cast out - Of thy account. And measure it not - As not
being holy In so high a degree. And they shall tread - Inhabit. The
holy city - Jerusalem, Matt. iv, 5. So they began to do, before St.
John wrote. And it has been trodden almost ever since by the
Romans, Persians, Saracens, and Turks. But that severe kind of
treading which is here peculiarly spoken of, will not be till under
the trumpet of the seventh angel, and toward the end of the
troublous times. This will continue but forty-two common
months, or twelve hundred and sixty common days; being but a
small part of the non-chronos.
Verse
3. And I - Christ. Will give to my two witnesses - These seem to
be two prophets; two select, eminent instruments. Some have
supposed (though without foundation) that they are Moses and
Elijah, whom they resemble in several respects. To prophesy
twelve hundred and sixty days - Common days, that is, an
hundred and eighty weeks. So long will they prophesy, (even
while that last and sharp treading of the holy city continues,) both
by word and deed, witnessing that Jesus is the Son of God, the
heir of all things, and exhorting all men to repent, and fear, and
glorify God. Clothed in sackcloth - The habit of the deepest
mourners, out of sorrow and concern for the people.
Verse
4. These are the two olive trees - That is, as Zerubbabel and
Joshua, the two olive trees spoken of by Zechariah, Zech. iii, 9, iv,
10, were then the two chosen instruments in God's hand, even so
shall these. be in their season. Being themselves full of the
unction of the Holy One, they shall continually transmit the same
to others also. And the two candlesticks - Burning and shining
lights. Standing before the Lord of the earth - Always waiting on
God, without the help of man, and asserting his right over the
earth and all things therein.
Verse
5. If any would kill them - As the Israelites would have done
Moses and Aaron, Num. xvi, 41. He must be killed thus - By that
devouring fire.
Verse
6. These have power - And they use that power. See verse 10. To
shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophesying -
During those "twelve hundred and sixty days." And have power
over the waters - In and near Jerusalem. To turn them into blood -
As Moses did those in Egypt. And to smite the earth with all
plagues, as often as they will - This is not said of Moses or Elijah,
or any mere man besides. And how is it possible to understand
this otherwise than of two individual persons?
Verse
7. And when they shall have finished their testimony - Till then
they are invincible. The wild beast - Hereafter to be described.
That ascendeth - First out of the sea, chap. xiii, 1, and then out of
the bottomless pit, chap. xvii, 8. Shall make war with them - It is
at his last ascent, not out of the sea, but the bottomless pit, that the
beast makes war upon the two witnesses. And even hereby is
fixed the time of "treading the holy city," and of the "two
witnesses." That time ends after the ascent of the beast out of the
abyss, and yet before the fulfilling of the mystery. And shall
conquer them - The fire no longer proceeding out of their mouth
when they have finished their work. And kill them - These will be
among the last martyrs, though not the last of all.
Verse
8. And their bodies shall be - Perhaps hanging on a cross. In the
street of the great city - Of Jerusalem, a far greater city, than any
other in those parts. This is described both spiritually and
historically: spiritually, as it is called Sodom Isaiah i, and Egypt;
on account of the same abominations abounding there, at the time
of the witnesses, as did once in Egypt and Sodom. Historically:
Where also their Lord was crucified - This possibly refers to the
very ground where his cross stood. Constantine the Great inclosed
this within the walls of the city. Perhaps on that very spot will
their bodies be exposed.
Verse
9. Three days and a half - So exactly are the times set down in this
prophecy. If we suppose this time began in the evening, and ended
in the morning, and included (which is no way impossible)
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the weekly festival of the Turkish
people, the Jewish tribes, and the Christian tongues; then all these
together, with the heathen nations, would have full leisure to gaze
upon and rejoice over them.
Verse
10. And they that dwell upon the earth - Perhaps this expression
may peculiarly denote earthly-minded men. Shall make merry -
As did the Philistines over Samson. And send gifts to one another
- Both Turks, and Jews, and heathens, and false Christians.
Verse
11. And great fear fell upon them that saw them - And now knew
that God was on their side.
Verse
12. And I heard a great voice - Designed for all to hear. And they
went up to heaven, and their enemies beheld them - who had not
taken notice of their rising again; by which some had been
convinced before.
Verse
13. And there was a great earthquake and the tenth part of the city
fell - We have here an unanswerable proof that this city is not
Babylon or Rome, but Jerusalem. For Babylon shall be wholly
burned before the fulfilling of the mystery of God. But this city is
not burned at all; on the contrary, at the fulfilling of that mystery,
a tenth part of it is destroyed by an earthquake, and the other nine
parts converted. And there were slain in the earthquake seven
thousand men - Being a tenth part of the inhabitants, who
therefore were seventy thousand in all. And the rest - The
remaining sixty-three thousand were converted: a grand step
toward the fulfilling of the mystery of God. Such a conversion we
no where else read of. So there shall be a larger as well as holier
church at Jerusalem than ever was yet. Were terrified - Blessed
terror! And gave glory - The character of true conversion, Jer. xiii,
16. To the God of heaven - He is styled, "The Lord of the earth,"
verse 4, when he declares his right over the earth by the two
witnesses; but the God of heaven, when he not only gives rain
from heaven after the most afflicting drought, but also declares his
majesty from heaven, by taking his witnesses up into it. When the
whole multitude gives glory to the God of heaven, then that
"treading of the holy city" ceases. This is the point so long aimed
at, the desired "fulfilling of the mystery of God," when the divine
promises are so richly fulfilled on those who have gone through
so great afflictions. All this is here related together, that whereas
the first and second woe went forth in the east, the rest of the
eastern affairs being added at once, the description of the western
might afterwards remain unbroken. It may be useful here to see
how the things here spoken of, and those hereafter described,
follow each other in their order.
1. The angel swears; the non-chronos begins; John eats the book;
the many kings arise.
2. The non-chronos and the "many kings" being on the decline,
that treading" begins, and the "two witnesses" appear.
3. The beast, after he has with the ten kings destroyed Babylon,
wars with them and kills them. After three days and an half they
revive and ascend to heaven. There is a great earthquake in the
holy city: seven thousand perish, and the rest are converted. The
"treading" of the city by the gentiles ends.
4. The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies are
assembled to fight against the Great King.
5. Multitudes of his enemies are killed, and the beast and the false
prophet cast alive into the lake of fire.
6. while John measures the temple of God and the altar with the
worshippers, the true worship of God is set up. The nations who
had trodden the holy city are converted. Hereby the mystery of
God is fulfilled.
7. Satan is imprisoned. Being released for a time, he, with Gog
and Magog, makes his last assault upon Jerusalem.
Verse
14. The second woe is past - The butchery made by the Saracens
ceased about the year 847, when their power was so broken by
Charles the Great that they never recovered it. Behold, the third
woe cometh quickly - Its prelude came while the Roman see took
all opportunities of laying claim to its beloved universality, and
enlarging its power and grandeur. And in the year 755 the bishop
of Rome became a secular prince, by king Pepin's giving him the
exarchate of Lombardy. The beginning of the third woe itself
stands, chap. xii, 12.
Verse
15. And the seventh angel sounded - This trumpet contains the
most important and joyful events, and renders all the former
trumpets matter of joy to all the inhabitants of heaven. The
allusion therefore in this and all the trumpets is to those used in
festal solemnities. All these seven trumpets were heard in heaven:
perhaps the seventh shall once be heard on earth also, 1 Thess. iv,
16. And there were great voices - From the several citizens of
heaven. At the opening of the seventh seal "there was silence in
heaven;" at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, great voices.
This alone is sufficient to show that the seven seals and seven
trumpets do not run parallel to each other. As soon as the seventh
angel sounds, the kingdom falls to God and his Christ. This
immediately appears in heaven, and is there celebrated with joyful
praise. But on earth several dreadful occurrences are to appear
first. This trumpet comprises all that follows from these voices to
chap. xxii, 5. The kingdom of the world - That is, the royal
government over the whole world, and all its kingdoms, Zech.
xiv, 9. Is become the kingdom of the Lord - This province has
been in the enemy's hands: it now returns to its rightful Master. In
the Old Testament, from Moses to Samuel, God himself was the
King of his own people. And the same will be in the New
Testament: he will himself reign over the Israel of God. And of
his Christ - This appellation is now first given him, since the
introduction of the book, on the mention of the kingdom
devolving upon him, under the seventh trumpet. Prophets and
priests were anointed, but more especially kings: whence that
term, the anointed, is applied only to a king. Accordingly,
whenever the Messiah is mentioned in scripture, his kingdom is
implied. Is become - In reality, all things (and so the kingdom of
the world) are God's in all ages: yet Satan and the present world,
with its kings and lords, are risen against the Lord and against his
Anointed. God now puts an end to this monstrous rebellion, and
maintains his right to all things. And this appears in an entirely
new manner, as soon as the seventh angel sounds.
Verse
16. And the four and twenty elders - These shall reign over the
earth, chap. v, 10. Who sit before God on their thrones - which we
do not read of any angel.
Verse
17. The Almighty - He who hath all things in his power as the
only Governor of them. Who is, and who was - God is frequently
styled, "He who is, and who was, and who is to come." but now
he is actually come, the words, "who is to come," are, as it were,
swallowed up. When it is said, We thank thee that thou hast taken
thy great power, it is all one as, "We thank thee that thou art
come." This whole thanksgiving is partly an enlargement on the
two great points mentioned in the fifteenth verse; partly a
summary of what is hereafter more distinctly related. Here it is
mentioned, how the kingdom is the Lord's; afterwards, how it is
the kingdom of his Christ. Thou hast taken thy great power - This
is the beginning of what is done under the trumpet of the seventh
angel. God has never ceased to use his power; but he has suffered
his enemies to oppose it, which he will now suffer no more.
Verse
18. And the heathen nations were wroth - At the breaking out of
the power and kingdom of God. This wrath of the heathens now
rises to the highest pitch; but it meets the wrath of the Almighty,
and melts away. In this verse is described both the going forth and
the end of God's wrath, which together take up several ages. And
the time of the dead is come - Both of the quick and dead, of
whom those already dead are far the more numerous part. That
they be judged - This, being infallibly certain, they speak of as
already present. And to give a reward - At the coming of Christ,
chap. xxii, 12; but of free grace, not of debt,
1. To his servants the prophets:
2. To his saints: to them who were eminently holy:
3. To them that fear his name: these are the lowest class. Those
who do not even fear God will have no reward from him. Small
and great - All universally, young and old, high and low, rich and
poor. And to destroy them that destroyed the earth - The earth was
destroyed by the "great whore" in particular, chap. xix, 2; xvii, 2,
5; but likewise in general, by the open rage and hate of wicked
men against all that is good; by wars, and the various destruction
and desolation naturally flowing therefrom; by such laws and
constitutions as hinder much good, and occasion many offenses
and calamities; by public scandals, whereby a door is opened for
all dissoluteness and unrighteousness; by abuse of secular and
spiritual powers; by evil doctrines, maxims, and counsels; by open
violence and persecution; and by sins crying to God to send
plagues upon the earth. This great work of God, destroying the
destroyers, under the trumpet of the seventh angel, is not the third
woe, but matter of joy, for which the elders solemnly give thanks.
All the woes, and particularly the third, go forth over those "who
dwell upon the earth;" but this destruction, over those "who
destroy the earth," and were also instruments of that woe.
Verse
19. And the temple of God-The inmost part of it. Was opened in
heaven - And hereby is opened a new scene of the most
momentous things, that we may see how the contents of the
seventh trumpet are executed; and, notwithstanding the greatest
opposition, (particularly by the third woe,) brought to a glorious
conclusion. And the ark of the covenant was seen in his temple -
The ark of the covenant which was made by Moses was not in the
second temple, being probably burnt with the first temple by the
Chaldeans. But here is the heavenly ark of the everlasting
covenant, the shadow of which was under the Old Testament,
Heb. ix, 4. The inhabitants of heaven saw the ark before: St. John
also saw it now; for a testimony, that what God had promised,
should be fulfilled to the uttermost. And there were lightnings,
and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail - The
very same there are, and in the same order, when the seventh
angel has poured out his phial; chap. xvi, 17-xxi, one place
answers the other. What the trumpet here denounces in heaven, is
there executed by the phial upon earth. First it is shown what will
be done; and afterwards it is done.
Chapter 11:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Johnson
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| McGee
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Jude Genesis
This version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible is a derivative of an electronic version, Copyright 1997, by Sulu D. Kelley. All rights reserved. Used by permission. It may not be modified or used commercially without permission of Wesleyan Heritage Publishing and Sulu Kelley. A special thanks to Mr. Kelley and Wesleyan Heritage Publishing for permission to create and post this version of Wesley's Notes on the Bible.
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