The scope of the Apocalypse is
indicated by its place in the Sacred Canon. Coming as it does
right at the close of the Scriptures, we should naturally
expect to find it outlining the last chapters of the
world's history. Such is indeed the case. The Revelation
is mainly devoted to a description of the judgments which God
will yet send upon the earth. It furnishes by far the most
complete description of the conditions which are to obtain
during the Tribulation period. It treats at greatest length
with the character and career of the Antichrist, who will be
the "Rod" in the hands of an angry God to chastise
recreant Israel and apostate Christendom. All of this is, of
course, preparatory to the establishment of Messiah's
kingdom, which will exist during the last of earth's
dispensations.
It is impossible to understand
the Apocalypse without a thorough acquaintance with the books
that precede it. The more familiar we are with the first
sixty-five books of the Bible, the better prepared are we for
the study of its sixty-sixth. There is little that is really
new in the Revelation. Its varied contents are largely an
amplification of what is to be found in the preceding
scriptures. Each of its figures and symbols are explained if
not on its own pages, then somewhere within the compass of
the written Word. For Scripture is ever self-interpreting.
Most of our difficulties with the Revelation grow out of our
ignorance and lack of acquaintance with the earlier books.
Daniel and Zechariah especially should be examined minutely,
for they shed much light upon the various and prophecies of
the Patmos seer.
The Apocalypse not only
reveals much concerning the person and work of the Man of
Sin, but it describes his doom, as it also announces the
complete overthrow of the Trinity of Evil. This, no doubt,
accounts for much of the prejudice which obtains against the
study and reading of this book. It is indeed remarkable that
this is the only book in the Bible connected with which there
is a distinct promise given to those who read and hear read
its prophecy (1:3). And yet how very rarely it is read from
the pulpits of those churches which are reputed as orthodox!
Surely the great Enemy is responsible for this. It seems that
Satan fears and hates above every book in the Bible this one
which tells of his being ultimately cast into the Lake of
Fire. But "we are not ignorant of his devices" (2
Cor. 2:11). Then let him not keep us from the prayerful and
careful perusal of this prophecy which tells of those things
"which must shortly come to pass".
1. We turn first to the sixth
chapter of the Revelation, where a fourfold view is presented
of the Son of Perdition. Just as at the beginning of the New
Testament the Holy Spirit has given us a fourfold delineation
of Christ in the Gospels, so at the commencement of His
description of the judgments of God on the earth He has
furnished us with a fourfold picture of Christ's great
opponent. We believe that the contents of the first four of
the "seals" describe four aspects of the
Antichrist's character, and also outline four stages in
his career. First, he is seen aping the Christ of God as the
Righteous One. The "white horse" on which he is
seated, speaking of righteousness. Just as we are told in 2
Cor. 11:14 that "Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light", and "therefore it is no great
thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness", so the Antichrist will pose as the
friend of law and order. Second, he is seen mimicking the
Christ of God as the mighty Warrior. Just as the Lord Jesus
at His return will make a footstool of His enemies, and
trample in fury all who defy Him (Isa. 63:3), so the Man of
Sin shall slay all who dare to oppose him. Third, he is seen
imitating Christ as the Bread of Life, for the third seal
views him as the Food-controller. Fourth, he is seen with his
mask off, depicted as one whose name is Death and Hades, that
is, as the Destroyer of men's bodies and souls.
Let us see how the identity of
this Rider of the various colored horses is established. In
6:2 we are told, "And I saw, and behold a white horse:
and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto
him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer".
Notice first, that he is here viewed as seated upon a
"white horse". This is in imitation of the Christ
of God, who, at the time of His second advent to the earth,
will also appear seated upon "a white horse" (Rev.
19:11). Second, it is said that "a crown was given unto
him". This at once serves to connect him with the first
Beast - the Antichrist - of Rev. 13, for of him it is
written, "And they worshipped the Dragon which gave
power unto the Beast" (v. 4). Again; in 6:4 we are told,
"And there went out another horse that was red: and
power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from
the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there
was given unto him a great sword". Notice first, the
last clause - "There was given unto him a great
sword". This stamps him plainly as the pseudo christ,
for of the true Christ it is written, "Out of His mouth
goeth a sharp sword" (19:15). Second, it is said
"power was given to him to take peace from the
earth." So, too, of the first Beast of Rev. 13 we read,
"And power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues,
and all nations" (v. 7). In the third seal he is viewed
as the Food-controller, weighing out the necessities of life
at famine prices. This, no doubt, corresponds with what we
read of in 13:17. Finally, in the fourth seal he is named
"Death and Hell". This double title removes all
doubt as to who is in view. When God remonstrates with Israel
for having made the seven-years treaty, He does so in the
following language: "And your covenant with Death shall
be disannulled, and your agreement with Hell shall not
stand" (Isa. 28:18). Thus the Riders of the four horses
of Rev. 6 are not four different persons, but one person
presented in a fourfold way, as the Lord Jesus is in the four
Gospels.
Before we pass from Rev. 6 a
few words should be added by way of amplification of our
remarks above, namely, that in the first part of Rev. 6 we
have outlined four stages in the Antichrist's
career. The preparation of the Man Christ Jesus for His
public ministry - the long years spent quietly at Nazareth -
are passed over by the four Evangelists. So here in Rev. 6
the early days of the Man of Sin - in his "little
horn" character - are not noticed. Under the first seal
he is viewed as seated on a white horse, having a bow. The
color of the horse and the fact that no arrow is seen
attached to the bow, suggests bloodless victories, for he
goes forth "conquering and to conquer". This first
seal at once conducts us to the time when the Prince of
Darkness poses as the Christ of God and presents himself to
the Jews for their acceptance. He does not come out in his
true satanic character, rather does he simulate the Prince of
Peace. The first seal is parallel with Dan. 11:21,23, where
we learn that he will gain the kingdom by flatteries and
political diplomacy. But not for long will he fill this
pacific role. War is in his heart (Psa. 55:21), and nothing
short of universal dominion will satisfy his proud ambitions.
As God has plainly warned, at the very time when men shall be
saying, Peace and safety, "then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and
they shall not escape" (1 Thess. 5:3).
It is to this the second seal
brings us. Here the Antichrist is seen no longer upon a white
horse, but upon a red horse. And in perfect accord with this,
it is added, "And power was given to him that sat
thereon to take peace from the earth...and there was given to
him a great sword" (v. 4). Little wonder that he is
called "the Destroyer of the Gentiles" (Jer. 4:7).
At the time of his overthrow it will be exclaimed, "Is
this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed
the cities thereof?" (Isa. 14:17,18). Jer. 25:29 throws
light upon this "great sword" which is given to him
- "For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is
called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye
shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all
the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts"
(read verses 15 to 33).
In the third seal he is
portrayed as the Harbinger of famine conditions. This is
intimated by the change of the color of the horse: for
"black" in connection with famine see Jer. 14:1,2
and Lam. 5:10. The symbolic significance of the
"black" horse is intensified by the figure of the
"pair of balances in his hand" (compare Hosea 12:7,
Amos 8:4-6). What follows describes the wheat being doled out
at famine prices. But it is added, "See thou hurt not
the oil and the wine". This intimates that the famine is
by no means universal: yea, it suggests that side by side
with abject suffering there is abundance and luxury. We
therefore regard this third seal as denoting the
Antichrist's persecution of the godly Jews which, from
other scriptures we learn, will be the fiercest during the
last three and one half years of his career. Rev. 13:17 makes
it known that they who will not be suffered to buy or sell
are the ones who refuse to receive his mark. These, of
course, are the faithful remnant of the Jews. But they who do
render allegiance to the Beast will not want - "oil and
wine" shall be their portion.
The fourth seal, plainly
conducts us to the end of Antichrist's course. The fact
that he is named Death and that we are told Hades (that which
receives the soul) followed with him, makes known the awful
doom which shall overtake this Son of Perdition and all his
blinded followers - see Rev. 19:20,21.
2. The next allusion to the
Antichrist is found in Rev. 9:11 where he is given a
threefold appellation, namely, King over the locusts, The
Angel of the Abyss, and the Destroyer. A few remarks upon the
context are required if we are to expound, even briefly, the
significance of these three titles. The majority of
pre-millennial commentators are agreed upon the identity of
the personage named in Rev. 9:11, though there is
considerable difference of opinion among them concerning the
meaning of the context. We can here only offer a few remarks
on the preceding verses according to our present light and
submit the reasons for our conclusions.
The immediate context takes us
back to the opening verse of Rev. 9 where a "star"
is seen falling from heaven unto the earth, unto whom is
given the key to the Bottomless Pit. This we believe refers
to Lucifer, or "Day-star" (see Isa. 14:12 margin).
The reference, we think, is not to his original fall, but to
what is described in Rev. 12:9. The fact that the key of the
Abyss is given to him is in keeping with the fact that during
the Tribulation period God allows him free rein and suffers
him to do his worst. The R. V. correctly renders verses one
and two as follows - "And there was given to him the key
of the Pit of the Abyss. And he opened the Pit of the
Abyss", etc., or, as it may literally be rendered,
"the well of the Bottomless Pit". This
expression occurs nowhere else in Scripture. The "well
of the Bottomless Pit" is to be distinguished from the
Bottomless Pit itself, mentioned in 9:11; 11:7; 17:8, 20:3.
What the distinction is we shall presently suggest.
Out of the well of the
Bottomless Pit issued a smoke, so great that the sun and the
air were darkened (v. 2), and out of the smoke came
"locusts upon the earth". We regard these locusts
as identical with the creatures referred to in the prophecy
of Joel (2:1-11). By noticing what is said of them in Joel 2
and Rev. 9 it is at once apparent that they are no ordinary
locusts. Joel says of them, "A great people and a
strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be
any more after it" (2:2). It is said, "When they
fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded" (2:8).
The fact that they issue from the Pit also denotes that they
are supernatural beings. In the description furnished in Rev.
9 they seem to be a kind of infernal cherubim, for
"the horse" (v. 7), the "man" (v. 7), the
"lion" (v. 8), and "the scorpion" (v. 19)
are combined in them. Their number is given as two hundred
thousand thousand. Who, then, are these infernal beings? No
commentator that we are acquainted with has attempted an
answer. It is therefore with diffidence that we suggest,
without being dogmatic, that they are, most likely, fallen
angels now imprisoned in Tartarus. We give three reason
which, in our judgment, point to this conclusion.
First, we know from 2 Pet. 2:4
that the angels which sinned were "cast down to
Tartarus", and in Rev. 9:2,3 we are told there
"arose a smoke out of the Pit...and there came out of
the smoke locusts upon the earth". Now, as pointed out,
these infernal locusts issue from the well of the Pit",
an expression occurring nowhere else in Scripture, and only
the locusts are said to come from there. So also the term
Tartarus is found nowhere but in 2 Pet. 2:4. It seems likely,
then, that the well of the Pit may be only another name for
Tartarus (with which only fallen angels are connected), just
as the Lake of Fire is only another name for Gehenna. Who
else could these locusts be but the fallen angels? To say we
do not know may savor of humility, but shall the writer be
deemed presumptuous because he has sought to furnish an
answer by comparing scripture with scripture?
In the second place, it is
surely significant that the "king" of these
"locusts" is termed in Rev. 9:11 "the angel of
the Bottomless Pit"! A title which is nowhere else given
to him. Just as Christ, the Angel of the Covenant (Mal. 3:1 -
cf Isa. 63:9, etc.) is, again and again, termed an angel in
the Apocalypse (see 8:3, 10:1, etc.), so the Antichrist is
here denominated "the Angel of the Bottomless Pit".
And just as we learn from Matt. 25:31 that "the Son of
Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with
Him" (cf Matt, 24:31), so when the Son of Perdition is
manifested, all the unholy angels will be with him!
In the third place, let the
language of 2 Pet. 2:4 be carefully examined: "For if
God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to
Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be
reserved unto judgment". It is to the last clause we
wish to direct attention. Let it be compared with the 9th
verse of the same chapter - "The Lord knoweth how to
deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the
unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished". Wicked
human beings are said to be reserved "unto the Day of
Judgment to be punished". But this is not what is said
of the angels that sinned, though, of course, eternal
punishment awaits them as we learn from Matt. 25:41. 2 Pet.
2:4 simply says they are "reserved unto judgment",
and we believe this means that God is holding them in
Tartarus until His time comes for Him to use them as one of
His instruments of judgment upon an ungodly world. The time
when God will thus use them is stated in Jude 6 - it will be
in "the judgment of the great day" (compare Rev.
6:17 for "the great day"). Confirmatory of this,
observe that in Joel 2:11 the Lord calls the supernatural
locusts "His army", then employed to inflict sore
punishments on apostate Israel.[5] If our interpretation of 2 Pet. 2:4 be
correct, namely, that it makes no reference to the future
punishment of the fallen angels, this explains why the Lord
in Matt. 25:41 when referring to future punishment was
careful to mention them specifically.
Returning now to Rev. 9:11 the
Antichrist is here termed the "King over" the
locusts. Let the reader pay careful attention to what is
predicted of these infernal beings in Joel 2 and here in Rev.
9, and let him remember they number no less than two hundred
millions, and then see if it does not throw new light on Rev.
13:4, where concerning the Antichrist the question is asked,
"Who is able to make war with him?"!! How utterly
futile to engage in conflict one who commands an army of two
hundred millions, none of whom are subject to death! In the
second place, he is here termed "the Angel of the
Bottomless Pit", a title peculiarly appropriate as the
leader of the fallen angels; and, as well, a title which
denotes the superhuman nature of the Son of Perdition. In the
third place, we are here told that his name "in the
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his
name Apollyon". This title serves to establish beyond a
shadow of doubt the identity of this "King" of the
infernal locusts, this Angel of the Bottomless Pit. The
Hebrew and the Greek names signify the same thing in English
- the Destroyer. It is the Destroyer of the Gentiles of Jer.
4:7, translated "Spoiler" in Isa. 16:4 and Jer.
6:24. Suitable name is this for the one who is the great
opponent of the Saviour. "Destroyer" is close akin
to "Death" in Rev. 6:8. The reason why his name is
given here in both Hebrew and Greek is because he will be
connected with and be the destroyer of both Jews and
Gentiles! But why give the Hebrew name first? Because the
order in judgment, as in grace, is "the Jew first"
- see Rom. 2:9 and 1:16 for each, respectively.
3. "And when they shall
have finished their testimony, the Beast that ascendeth out
of the Bottomless Pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them" (Rev. 11:7). This is the
first time in the Revelation that the Antichrist is seen in
his character of "the Beast". The last scripture
which we have examined serves at once to identify him. He is
termed "the Angel of the Bottomless Pit", because
in a peculiar sense the Abyss is his home. There he has been
during all the centuries of this Christian era. In Acts 1:23
(cf chapter 3, Section 3) the Pit is called "his own
place". Here the Beast is shown ascending out of the
Bottomless Pit. What, then, is the Abyss? It appears to be
the special abode of infernal creatures. As we have seen, out
of its well issue the fallen angels. From it comes the Beast.
And in it Satan himself is incarcerated for the thousand
years (Rev. 20:3). The Abyss is quite distinct from Hades in
which the souls of lost human beings are now being tormented;
as it must also be distinguished from Gehenna or the Lake of
Fire in which all the lost shall suffer for ever and
ever.
4. We come now to Rev. 13. A
lengthy paper might readily be devoted to its exposition, but
as we have had occasion to refer to its contents so
frequently in earlier chapters, we shall here be as brief as
possible. The contents of this chapter center around two
"Beasts". As to which of them represent the
Antichrist there is a difference of opinion. The majority of
those who have written upon the subject regard the first
Beast as the Man of Sin, and with them we are in hearty
accord. We shall devote our next chapter to a setting forth
of some of the many proofs that the first Beast is the
Antichrist. Here we shall take the point for granted.
"And I stood upon the
sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,
having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten
crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy" (v.1).
There is here, as frequently in Scripture, a double
reference. Two objects quite distinct though intimately
connected are in view. We believe that this Beast which
arises from the sea points to the Roman Empire revived and in
its final form, that is, resuscitated and confederated under
the form often kingdoms. In Dan. 7:3 we read, "And four
great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from
another". These four great beasts are interpreted in the
verses which follow as four kingdoms. In v. 7 we are told
this fourth Beast (the Roman Empire) "had ten
horns". So the Beast of Rev. 13:1 also has ten horns.
Each of the successive Beasts or kingdoms of Dan. 7 retained
the territory of the previous one, though enlarging on it. In
the symbolic description there furnished the first Beast is
likened unto "a lion" (v. 4); the second to "a
bear" (v. 5); the third to "a leopard" (v. 6).
So also in Rev. 13 the Beast there is "like unto a
leopard", has feet like "a bear", and has the
mouth of "a lion" (v. 2). Thus we learn that the
Roman Empire in its final form will include within its
borders the territory controlled by the earlier Empires and
will also perpetuate the dominant characteristics of the
ancient Babylonians, Medo-Persians, and Grecians.
But it is very clear from what
follows in Rev. 13 that there is something more than the
Empire here in view. In vv. 3-8 it is a person that is before
us. We are satisfied that this same person is also described,
symbolically, in the opening verses. As is frequently the
case in the prophetic scriptures, the king and his kingdom
are here inseparably united. Rev. 13:1,2 portrays both the
Empire and its last Emperor. One of the proofs for this is
found in Dan. 9:26,27, where (as we have shown in Chapter 9)
the Antichrist is denominated "the prince" of that
people who destroyed Jerusalem in A. D. 70. We shall
therefore interpret here according to this principle.
"And I saw...a Beast rise
up out of the sea". In Scripture, the troubled
"sea" is frequently a figure of restless humanity
away from God. The Antichrist will come upon the scene at a
time of unprecedented social disturbance and governmental
upheaval. He will appear at a crisis in the history of the
world. From other prophetic scriptures we gather that,
following the removal of the Church from this earth, and some
time before Daniel's seventieth week begins, there will
be a complete overthrow of law and order, both civil and
political. All Divine restraint being removed, lawlessness
will prevail. We have no doubt that Satan will designedly
bring this about. It will create a situation beyond the
diplomatic skill of earth's statesmen. This will provide
the desired opportunity for the coming Superman, who will be
a diplomatic genius. Just as many leaders today are satisfied
that a League of Nations would be the best device for
preserving peace, so in the day to come the Man of Sin will
satisfy the world that this is the only solution to the
baffling problems then confronting the Powers of earth. Thus
will the Antichrist resurrect the old Roman Empire at a time
of universal confusion and tumult. He will himself be the
acknowledged head or Emperor, the last of the Caesars. Hence
the double significance of this figure - "a Beast rising
out of the sea". Out of a state of anarchy will come
forth this might Despot, who will speedily arrogate to
himself all authority, both Divine and human; and in the end
it will be seen that he embodies a lawlessness even worse and
more fatal than that out of which he sprang. A Beast indeed
will he soon appear to be. Pregnant with meaning is this
title. Having rejected God's "Lamb"; a Beast
shall be the world's ruler. This will be God's reply
to the satanic teaching of Evolution now so popular almost
everywhere. The leaders of modern thought insist on the
beastial origin of man, and so a Beast shall yet lead the
majority of his generation to Perdition!
"Having seven heads and
ten horns". It is most significant that identically the
same features are attributed to the Dragon in 12:3. He, too,
is there said to have "seven heads and ten horns".
This clearly implies his satanic origin: he will be a human
replica of the Devil himself. As wrote the late G. H. Pember
(from whom we have borrowed a number of valuable points), the
Beast will be "the effulgence of the Antigod's
glory, and the very image of his substance". We take it
that the "seven heads" are symbolic of full
intelligence, and the "ten horns" speak of imperial
dominion.
"And the Beast which I
saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of
a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion" (v. 2).
Like the Beast rising up out of the sea of the previous
verse, we believe the terms of this second verse have a
double significance. First, as intimated above, they denote
that the Empire will include the territory and preserve the
dominant features of the earlier Empires. Second, they supply
a figurative description of the Emperor himself. The
Antichrist will combine in his personality the
characteristics of the leopard (beauty and subtlety), of the
bear (strength and cruelty), and of the lion (boldness and
ferocity).
"And the Dragon gave him
his power, and his seat, and great authority" (v. 2).
This is the Devil's travesty of what God the Father will
yet do to His Son: - "I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him
near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve Him" (Dan. 7:13,14).
"And I saw one of his
heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was
healed: and all the world wondered after the Beast" (v.
3). It is clear from a number of scriptures that during the
early part of the second half of Daniel's seventieth week
the Antichrist will be slain by the sword - cf Isa. 14:18,19;
37:7; Ezek. 21:25 R. V.; Zech. 11:17: see our comments on
these in the closing portion of Chapter 6. It is equally
clear that this wound of death will be healed (Rev. 13:4) and
that the Beast shall again live (Rev. 13:14).[6] Satan will be permitted to bring his son
from the dead. This is no wild speculation of ours but a view
which has been propounded by quite a number of devout
students. In his "Coming Prince", Sir Robert
Anderson said, "The language of Rev. 13:3,12 suggests
that there will be some impious travesty of the resurrection
of our Lord". It is useless to reason about it: we
simply believe the record of Scripture upon it. The raising
of the Beast from the dead will remove whatever doubt men may
have entertained concerning his supernatural character.
"All the world wondered after him" is the
statement which immediately follows the reference to the
healing of his wound of death.
"And they worshipped the
Dragon which gave power unto the Beast: and they worshipped
the Beast, saying, Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to
make war with him?" (v. 4). This cry of the world,
"Who is like unto the Beast?" is a travesty of the
song of Moses. When celebrating Jehovah's overthrow of
their enemies at the Red Sea, Israel sang, "Who is like
unto Thee, O Lord, among the Gods! Who is like Thee, glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders!" (Ex.
15:11). The additional exclamation, "Who is able to make
war with him?" is evoked by the vast army of infernal
creatures at his command, and by his own triumph over death
in battle.
"And there was given unto
him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies" (v.
5). This is the one great distinguishing mark of the
Antichrist - cf. Psa. 52:1-4; Isa. 14:13,14; Dan. 7:11,20;
11:36; 2 Thess. 2:4, etc. But not for long will he be
suffered to continue his God-defying course. Another
forty-two months and his career shall be ended. This number -
here designedly used by the Holy Spirit, rather than three
and one half years or twelve hundred and sixty days - is a
very significant one. Its factors are 6 and 7, which stand
for man and completeness. It is man in his fallen condition,
here the Man of Sin, fully manifested. Forty-two stands for
intensified apostasy. Thus Num. 33 gives the various stopping
places of unbelieving Israel in the wilderness as forty-two
in number. Judges 12:6 tells us that the number of the
apostate Ephraimites which fell before the Gileadites were 42
thousand. See also 2 Kings 2:4 and 10:14.
"And it was given unto
him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and
there was given to him authority over every tribe and people
and tongue and nation. And all they that dwell on the earth
shall worship him, every one whose name hath not been written
from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the
Lamb that hath been slain" (vv. 7,8, R. V.). The
"saints" here mentioned are the godly Jewish
remnant who will refuse to worship the Beast. Those
"overcome" are they who disobeyed the command of
Christ recorded in Matt. 24:16; those who obey will be
preserved by God - see Rev. 12:6. Note how election is seen
here: only they whose names were written from the foundation
of the world in the book of life will be preserved from the
unpardonable sin of worshipping the Antichrist - cf Matt.
24:22,24.
"And I beheld another
Beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a
lamb, and he spake as a dragon" (v. 11). This brings
before us the second Beast, called in 19:20 the False
Prophet. He is the third person of the Trinity of Evil. As
there is to be an Antichrist who will both counterfeit and
oppose the Christ of God, so there will be an Anti-spirit who
will simulate and oppose the Spirit of God. Just as the great
work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ, so the one aim
of the Anti-spirit will be to magnify the false christ (see
13:12). Just as the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
was visibly attended by "cloven tongues like as of
fire" (Acts 2:3), so we read of the Anti-spirit that
"he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" (v.
13). And just as it is the Holy Spirit who now quickens dead
sinners into newness of life, so of the Anti-spirit we are
told, "He had power to give life unto the image of the
Beast" (v. 15).
5. "And the third angel
followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship
the Beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of
the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into
the cup of His indignation, and he shall be tormented with
fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in
the presence of the Lamb" (Rev. 14:9,10). This looks
back to what we read of in the closing verses of the
preceding chapter. "And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the Beast, or the number of his name" (13:16,17). This
"mark" will be the official sign of allegiance to
the Emperor stamped either upon the hand or forehead of his
loyal subjects. It will be the satanic travesty of the
"seal" which the angel will stamp on the foreheads
of God's servants (7:13). This "mark" on the
persons of the subjects of the Beast will be, we believe, the
name of the Devil, (cf. Rev. 13:4), as the seal on the
foreheads of God's servants is defined in 14:1 as
"having their Father's name written on their
foreheads". Here in Rev. 14:9-11 we have one of the most
solemn warnings in all the Bible. An angel from heaven will
announce the terrible punishment which shall be visited upon
those who honor the Beast. It is set over against the threats
of the Beast and the False Prophet, who will terrify men by
the sentence of physical death for all who defy them. But
here God, by His angel, declares that all who heed the Beast
and his coadjutor will share their awful doom. This no doubt
will strengthen the faith and patience of the saints, and
enable them to endure unto the end.
6. "And another angel
came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried
with a loud cry, to him that had the sharp sickle, saying,
Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the
vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the
angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of
the wrath of God" (14:19,20). The "Vine of the
earth" refers, we believe, to the Man of Sin at the head
of apostate Israel. This appellation points one more
contrast. In John 15, we find the Lord Jesus saying, "I
am the true Vine, ye are the branches". The true Vine,
then, consists of the Christ of God and His people in
fellowship with Him. Over against this is "the vine of
the earth", which is the Antichrist and those allied to
him, particularly, renegade Israel. In Deut. 32 there is a
reference to the "Vine of the earth" - "For
their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves
being judges. For their Vine is of the vine of Sodom, and
their clusters are bitter" (v. 31,32). That this is
speaking of apostate Israel is clear from v. 28 - "For
they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any
understanding in them". That the passage is speaking of
apostate Israel in the days of the Antichrist appears from v.
35 - "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their
foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their
calamity is at hand, and the things which shall come upon
them make haste" (v. 35).
7. In Rev. 15:2 there is a
brief allusion to the Beast, in connection with the godly
Remnant: "And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled
with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the
Beast, and over his image, and over his mask, and over the
number of his name, stand on the sea of glass having the
harps of God", etc. The reference is to those who had
been slain by the Antichrist because they had refused to
render him any honor or worship. The same company is seen
again in 20:4.
8. Rev. 16 describes the
"vial" judgments which are executed just before the
end of the Tribulation. The Beast is noticed several times in
the chapter. In v.2 we read, "And the first went, and
poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome
and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the
Beast, and upon them which worshipped his image" (v. 2).
This is a foretaste of the grievous torments awaiting the
worshippers of the Beast. Again in v.10 we read, "And
the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the
Beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness and they gnawed
their tongues for pain". Here the Beast himself receives
intimation of the doom awaiting him. In vv. 13 and 14 we are
told, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come
out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the
Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet. For they
are the sprites of demons, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty".
Here we behold, in symbolic guise, each of the persons in the
Evil Trinity. The figure of the "frog" is very
suggestive. Frogs are creatures which love the darkness
rather than the light: they wallow in the mire and filth:
their croaking is heard in the dusk of twilight and by night.
Thus they are an apt symbol of the persons in the Trinity of
Evil. Their very form suggests inflation by pride. The
reference here in Rev. 16:13,14 indicates the superhuman
character of the False Prophet as well as of the Beast and
the Dragon.
9. Rev. 17 calls for a lengthy
exposition, so we must defer to a later chapter the
consideration of its details. The central figures in it are
"the great whore" and the Beast. While freely
granting that, historically, the great whore has received its
fulfillment in the Roman Catholic system, and while allowing
that it will yet represent the whole of apostate Christendom,
nevertheless, we believe that the ultimate reference is to
apostate Israel. Here in Rev. 17 the "woman" is
first seen sitting upon the scarlet colored Beast - the
Antichrist in his imperial glory (v.3); but later we see him
suffering his ten kings to destroy her (v. 16). This accords
perfectly with the dual relation of Antichrist to Israel:
first posing as their Benefactor (here seen in v. 3
supporting her), later standing forth as her great Enemy. The
eighth verse (see our comments on it in Chapter 3, Section
III,6) is one of the scriptures which show that Antichrist is
a re-incarnation of Judas.
10. Rev. 19:19,20 describes
the end of Antichrist's career. We need not enlarge now
upon these verses for we have already commented on them in
Chapter 7. The final reference to the Antichrist is in Rev.
20:10 where we read of the Devil being cast into the Lake of
Fire where the Beast and the False Prophet are, to be, with
them, tormented for ever and ever.