Chapter 12:
| 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 12
The great vision of this book goes straight forward, from the
fourth to the twenty-second chapter. Only the tenth, with part of
the eleventh chapter, was a kind of introduction to the trumpet of
the seventh angel; after which it is said, "The second woe is past:
behold, the third woe cometh quickly." Immediately the seventh
angel sounds, under whom the third woe goes forth. And to this
trumpet belongs all that is related to the end of the book.
Verse
1. And a great sign was seen in heaven - Not only by St. John, but
many heavenly spectators represented in the vision. A sign means
something that has an uncommon appearance, and from which we
infer that some unusual thing will follow. A woman - The emblem
of the church of Christ, as she is originally of Israel, though built
and enlarged on all sides by the addition of heathen converts; and
as she will hereafter appear, when all her "natural branches are
again "grafted in." She is at present on earth; and yet, with regard
to her union with Christ, may be said to be in heaven, Eph. ii, 6.
Accordingly, she is described as both assaulted and defended in
heaven, verses 4, 7. chap. xii, 4, 7 Clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars -
These figurative expressions must he so interpreted as to preserve
a due proportion between them. So, in Joseph's dream, the sun
betokened his father; the moon, his mother; the stars, their
children. There may be some such resemblance here; and as the
prophecy points out the "power over all nations," perhaps the sun
may betoken the Christian world; the moon, the Mahometans,
who also carry the moon in their ensigns; and the crown of twelve
stars, the twelve tribes of Israel; which are smaller than the sun
and moon. The whole of this chapter answers the state of the
church from the ninth century to this time.
Verse
2. And being with child she crieth, travailing in birth - The very
pain, without any outward opposition, would constrain a woman
in travail to cry out. These cries, throes, and pains to be delivered,
were the painful longings, the sighs, and prayers of the saints for
the coming of the kingdom of God. The woman groaned and
travailed in spirit, that Christ might appear, as the Shepherd and
King of all nations.
Verse
3. And behold a great red dragon - His fiery-red colour denoting
his disposition. Having seven heads - Implying vast wisdom. And
ten horns - Perhaps on the seventh head; emblems of mighty
power and strength, which he still retained. And seven diadems on
his heads - Not properly crowns, but costly bindings, such as
kings anciently wore; for, though fallen, he was a great potentate
still, even "the prince of this world."
Verse
4. And his tail - His falsehood and subtilty. Draweth - As a train.
The third part - A very large number. Of the stars of heaven - The
Christians and their teachers, who before sat in heavenly places
with Christ Jesus. And casteth them to the earth - Utterly deprives
them of all those heavenly blessings. This is properly a part of the
description of the dragon, who was not yet himself on earth, but in
heaven: consequently, this casting them down was between the
beginning of the seventh trumpet and the beginning of the third
woe; or between the year 847 and the year 947; at which time pestilent doctrines, particularly that of the Manichees in the east, drew abundance of people from the truth.
And the dragon stood before the woman, that when she had
brought forth, he might devour the child - That he might hinder
the kingdom of Christ from spreading abroad, as it does under this
trumpet.
Verse
5. And she brought forth a man child - Even Christ, considered
not in his person, but in his kingdom. In the ninth age, many
nations with their princes were added to the Christian church.
Who was to rule all nations - When his time is come. And her
child - Which was already in heaven, as were the woman and the
dragon. Was caught up to God - Taken utterly out of his reach.
Verse
6. And the woman fled into the wilderness - This wilderness is
undoubtedly on earth, where the woman also herself is now
supposed to be. It betokens that part of the earth where, after
having brought forth, she found a new abode. And this must be in
Europe; as Asia and Afric were wholly in the hands of the Turks
and Saracens; and in a part of it where the woman had not been
before. In this wilderness, God had already prepared a place; that
is, made it safe and convenient for her. The wilderness is, those
countries of Europe which lie on this side the Danube; for the
countries which lie beyond it had received Christianity before.
That they may feed her - That the people of that place may
provide all things needful for her. Twelve hundred and sixty days
- So many prophetic days, which are not, as some have supposed,
twelve hundred and sixty, but seven hundred and seventy-seven,
common years. This Bengelius has shown at large in his German
Introduction. These we may compute from the year 847 to 1524.
So long the woman enjoyed a safe and convenient place in
Europe, which was chiefly Bohemia; where she was fed, till God
provided for her more plentifully at the Reformation.
Verse
7. And there was war in heaven - Here Satan makes his grand
opposition to the kingdom of God; but an end is now put to his
accusing the saints before God. The cause goes against him,
verses 10, 11, chap. xii, 10, 11 and Michael executes the sentence. That Michael is a created
angel, appears from his not daring, in disputing with Satan, Jude
9, to bring a railing accusation; but only saying, "The Lord rebuke
thee." And this modesty is implied in his very name; for Michael
signifies, "Who is like God?" which implies also his deep
reverence toward God, and distance from all self-exaltation. Satan
would be like God: the very name of Michael asks, "Who is like
God?" Not Satan; not the highest archangel. It is he likewise that
is afterward employed to seize, bind, and imprison that proud
spirit.
Verse
8. And he prevailed not - The dragon himself is principally
mentioned; but his angels, likewise, are to be understood. Neither
was this place found any more in heaven - So till now he had a
place in heaven. How deep a mystery is this! One may compare
this with Luke x, 18; Eph. ii, 2; iv, 8; vi, 12.
Verse
9. And the great dragon was cast out - It is not yet said, unto the
earth - He was cast out of heaven; and at this the inhabitants of
heaven rejoice. He is termed the great dragon, as appearing here
in that shape, to intimate his poisonous and cruel disposition. The
ancient serpent - In allusion to his deceiving Eve in that form.
Dragons are a kind of large serpent. Who is called the Devil and
Satan - These are words of exactly the same meaning; only the
former is Greek; the latter, Hebrew; denoting the grand adversary
of all the saints, whether Jews or gentiles. He has deceived the
whole world - Not only in their first parents, but through all ages,
and in all countries, into unbelief and all wickedness; into the
hating and persecuting faith and all goodness. He was cast out
unto the earth - He was cast out of heaven; and being cast out
thence, himself came to the earth. Nor had he been unemployed
on the earth before, although his ordinary abode was in heaven.
Verse
10. Now is come - Hence it is evident that all this chapter belongs
to the trumpet of the seventh angel. In the eleventh chapter, from
the fifteenth to the eighteenth verse, are proposed the contents of
this extensive trumpet; the execution of which is copiously
described in this and the following chapters. The salvation - Of
the saints. The might - Whereby the enemy is cast out. The
kingdom - Here the majesty of God is shown. And the power of
his Christ - Which he will exert against the beast; and when he
also is taken away, then will the kingdom be ascribed to Christ
himself, chap. xix, 16; xx, 4. The accuser of our brethren - So
long as they remained on earth. This great voice, therefore, was
the voice of men only. Who accused them before our God day and
night - Amazing malice of Satan, and patience of God!
Verse
11. And they have overcome him - Carried the cause against him.
By the blood of the Lamb - Which cleanses the soul from all sin,
and so leaves no room for accusing. And by the word of their
testimony - The word of God, which they believed and testified,
even unto death. So, for instance, died Olam, king of Sweden, in
the year 900, whom his own subjects would have compelled to
idolatry; and, upon his refusal, slew as a sacrifice to the idol
which he would not worship. So did multitudes of Bohemian
Christians, in the year 916, when queen Drahomire raised a severe
persecution, wherein many "loved not their lives unto the death."
Verse
12. Woe to the earth and the sea - This is the fourth and last
denunciation of the third woe, the most grievous of all. The first
was only, the second chiefly, on the earth, Asia; the third, both on
the earth and the sea, Europe. The earth is mentioned first,
because it began in Asia, before the beast brought it on Europe.
He knoweth he hath but a little time - Which extends from his
casting out of heaven to his being cast into the abyss. We are now
come to a most important period of time. The non- chronos
hastens to an end. We live in the little time wherein Satan hath
great wrath; and this little time is now upon the decline. We are in
the "time, times, and half a time," wherein the woman is "fed in
the wilderness;" yea, the last part of it, "the half time," is begun.
We are, as will be shown, towards the close of the "forty-two
months" of the beast; and when his number is fulfilled, grievous
things will be. Let him who does not regard the being seized by
the wrath of the devil; the falling unawares into the general
temptation; the being born away, by the most dreadful violence,
into the worship of the beast and his image, and, consequently,
drinking the unmixed wine of the wrath of God, and being
tormented day and night for ever and ever in the lake of fire and
brimstone; let him also who is confident that he can make his way
through all these by his own wisdom and strength, without need
of any such peculiar preservative as the word of this prophecy
affords; let him, I say, go hence. But let him who does not take
these warnings for senseless outcries, and blind alarms, beg of
God, with all possible earnestness, to give him his heavenly light
herein. God has not given this prophecy, in so solemn a manner,
only to show his providence over his church, but also that his
servants may know at all times in what particular period they are.
And the more dangerous any period of time is, the greater is the
help which it affords. But where may we fix the beginning and
end of the little time? which is probably four-fifths of a chronos,
or somewhat above 888 years. This, which is the time of the third
woe, may reach from 947, to the year 1836. For,
1. The short interval of the second woe, (which woe ended in the
year 840,) and the 777 years of the woman, which began about the year 847, quickly after which followed the war in heaven, fix the
beginning not long after 8lxiv, and thus the third woe falls in the
tenth century, extending from 900 to 1000; called the dark, the
iron, the unhappy age.
2. If we compare the length of the third woe with the period of
time which succeeds it in the twentieth chapter, it is but a little
time to that vast space which reaches from the beginning of the
non-chronos to the end of the world.
Verse
13. And when the dragon saw - That he could no longer accuse
the saints in heaven, he turned his wrath to do all possible
mischief on earth. He persecuted the woman - The ancient
persecutions of the church were mentioned, chap. i, 9, ii, 10, vii,
14; but this persecution came after her flight, verse 6, just at the
beginning of the third woe. Accordingly, in the tenth and eleventh
centuries, the church was furiously persecuted by several heathen
powers. In Prussia, king Adelbert was killed in the year 997, king
Brunus in 1008; and when king Stephen encouraged Christianity
in Hungary, he met with violent opposition. After his death, the
heathens in Hungary set themselves to root it out, and prevailed
for several years. About the same time, the army of the emperor,
Henry the Third, was totally overthrown by the Vandals. These,
and all the accounts of those times, show with what fury the
dragon then persecuted the woman.
Verse
14. And there were given to the woman the two wings of the great
eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place - Eagles
are the usual symbols of great potentates. So Ezek. xvii, 3, by "a
great eagle', means the king of Babylon. Here the great eagle is
the Roman empire; the two wings, the eastern and western
branches of it. A place in the wilderness was mentioned in the
sixth verse also; but it is not the same which is mentioned here. In
the text there follow one after the other,
1. The dragon's waiting to devour the child.
2. The birth of the child, which is caught up to God.
3. The fleeing of the woman into the wilderness.
4. The war in heaven, and the casting out of the dragon.
5. The beginning of the third woe.
6. The persecution raised by the dragon against the woman.
7. The woman's flying away upon the eagle's wings. In like
manner there follow one after the other,
(1.) The beginning of the twelve hundred and sixty days.
(2.) The beginning of the little time.
(3.) The beginning of the time, times, and half a time. This third
period partly coincides both with the first and the second. After
the beginning of the twelve hundred and sixty days, or rather of
the third woe, Christianity was exceedingly propagated, in the
midst of various persecutions. About the year 948 it was again
settled in Denmark; in 965, in Poland and Silesia; in 980, through
all Russia. In 997 it was brought into Hungary; into Sweden and
Norway, both before and after. Transylvania received it about
1000; and, soon after, other parts of Dacia. Now, all the countries
in which Christianity was settled between the beginning of the
twelve hundred and sixty days, and the imprisonment of the
dragon, may be understood by the wilderness, and by her place in
particular. This place contained many countries; so that
Christianity now reached, in an uninterrupted tract, from the
eastern to the western empire; and both the emperors now lent
their wings to the woman, and provided a safe abode for her.
Where she is fed - By God rather than man; having little human
help. For a time, and times, and half a time - The length of the
several periods here mentioned seems to be nearly this: - YEARS
[1.] The non-chronos contains less than 1111
[2.] The little time 888
[3.] The time, times, and half a time 777
[4.] The time of the beast 666 And comparing the prophecy and
history together, they seem to begin and end nearly thus:
1. The non-chronos extends .from about 800 to 1836
2. The 1260 days of the woman from 847-1524
3. The little time 947-1836
4. The time, time, and half 1058-1836
5. The time of the beast is between the beginning and end of the
three times and a half. In the year 1058 the empires had a good
understanding with each other, and both protected the woman.
The bishops of Rome, likewise, particularly Victor II., were duly
subordinate to the emperor. We may observe, the twelve hundred
and sixty days of the woman, from 847 to 1524, and the three times and a half, refer to the same wilderness. But in the former part of the twelve hundred and sixty days,
before the three times and an half began, namely, from the year
847 to 1058, she was fed by others, being little able to help
herself; whereas, from 1058 to 1524, she is both fed by others,
and has food herself. To this the sciences transplanted into the
west from the eastern countries much contributed; the scriptures,
in the original tongues, brought into the west of Europe by the
Jews and Greeks, much more; and most of all, the Reformation,
grounded on those scriptures.
Verse
15. Water is an emblem of a great people; this water, of the Turks
in particular. About the year 1060 they overran the Christian part
of Asia. Afterward, they poured into Europe, and spread farther
and farther, till they had overflowed many nations.
Verse
16. But the earth helped the woman - The powers of the earth; and
indeed she needed help through this whole period. "The time" was
from 1058 to 1280; during which the Turkish flood ran higher and higher,
though frequently repressed by the emperors, or their generals,
helping the woman. "The" two "times" were from 1280 to 1725.
During these likewise the Turkish power flowed far and wide; but
still from time to time the princes of the earth helped the woman,
that she was not carried away by it. "The half time" is from 1725
to 1836. In the beginning of this period the Turks began to meddle
with the affairs of Persia: wherein they have so entangled
themselves, as to be the less able to prevail against the two
remaining Christian empires. Yet this flood still reaches the
woman "in her place;" and will, till near the end of the "half
time," itself be swallowed up, perhaps by means of Russia, which
is risen in the room of the eastern empire.
Verse
17. And the dragon was wroth - Anew, because he could not
cause her to be carried away by the stream. And he went forth -
Into other lands. To make war with the rest of her seed - Real
Christians, living under heathen or Turkish governors.
Chapter 12:
| 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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