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CH. XII. 1 NOW a great wonder appeared in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 and she was with child, and cried out, being in travail, and in great pain to bring forth. 3 And another wonder appeared in heaven; for, behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bring forth, that, when she brought forth, he might devour her child. 5 And she brought forth a male child, who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up to God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the desert, where she had a place prepared of God, that she might be fed there a thousand two hundred and sixty days.

7 And there was war in heaven Michael and his angels warred against the dragon; and the dragon warred, and his angels, 8 but they prevailed not, nor was their place found any more in heaven. 9 For the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the impostor, and [the] adversary, who deceiveth the whole world; he

was cast out upon the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.* 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now is come salvation, and might, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, that accused them before our God day and night. 11 But they overcame him through the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives, but exposed them even unto death.

12 Rejoice therefore, ye heaveñs, and ye who dwell in them. Alas for the earth, and for the sea! because the impostor is come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time." 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast out upon the earth, he pursued the woman who brought forth the male child. 14 And to the woman were given two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly, from before the serpent, into the desert, to her place, where she is to be fed for a time and times and half a time. And the serpent cast out from his mouth, after the woman, water as it were a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the river. 16 But the earth assisted the woman, and the earth opened its mouth, and drank up the river

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"All this is a visionary scene, presented to the mind of John. See the note on ch. iv. ver. 2. The meaning of the allegory seems to be, that, after a contest in the Roman empire, the champions of the Christian cause prevailed; heathenism, or the religion of the empire, was abolished; and the christian emperor Constantine gave a civil establishment to christianity." Newcome.

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which the dragon cast out from | to him over every tribe, and his mouth. 17 And the dragon people, and language, and nawas angry with the woman, tion. 8 And all who dwelt on and departed to make war with the rest of her offspring, who kept the commandments of God, and maintained the testimony of Jesus.

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the earth, whose name was not written from the foundation of the world, in the book of life of the lamb that was slain, worshipped him. 9 If any one have an ear, let him hear. 10 If any one lead into captivity, into captivity he shall go: If any one shall kill with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

CH. XIII. 1 THEN I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having ten horns, and seven heads; and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads names of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like a 11 And I beheld another leopard, and his feet were as beast coming up out of the those of a bear, and his mouth earth; and he had two horns as the mouth of a lion and the like a lamb, but he spake as a dragon gave to him his own dragon. 12 And he exercised power, and his own throne, all the authority of the first and great authority. 3 And I beast in his presence, and caussaw one of his heads wounded, eth the earth, and those who as it were, to death; but his dwell in it, to worship the first deadly stroke was healed: and beast, whose deadly wound was all the world wondered and fol- healed. 13 And he doth great lowed after the beast. 4 And miracles; so that he maketh men worshipped the dragon, be- fire to come down from heaven cause he had given authority to on the earth in the presence of the beast and they worship-men. 14 And he deceiveth those ped the beast, saying, "Who who dwell on the earth by is like the beast? and who is means of those miracles which able to war against him?" 5 it was given him to do in the And there was given to the presence of the beast; saying to beast a mouth speaking great those who dwell on the earth, things, and blasphemies; and that they should make an image authority was given to him [to to the beast which had the act] forty-two months. 6 And wound by a sword and yet lived. he opened his mouth in blas- 15 And he had power to give phemy against God, to blas-life to the image of the beast, pheme against his name, and his tabernacle, [and] those who dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given him to make war against the saints, and to overcome them and authority was given

that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great,

rich and poor, free-men and slaves, to receive from him a mark on their right hand, or on their foreheads: 17 [and] that no one should be able to buy or sell, but he who had the mark; even the name' of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

the first-fruits to God, and to the lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no falsehood: [for] they are spotless.

6 And I saw [another] messenger flying in mid-heaven, having an aionian gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and tribe, and language, and people, 7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him who made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the springs of waters."

8 And another messenger followed, saying, "The great Babylon is fallen, is fallen; [because] she made all nations drink of the wine [of the fury] of her fornication."

CH. XIV. 1 AND I looked, and, behold, the lamb stood on Mount Sion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand persons, having his own name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven, as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of great 9 And another [third] mesthunder and the sound which senger followed them, saying I heard was as that of harpers with a loud voice, "If any one playing on their harps: 3 and worship the beast and his they sang as it were a new song image, and receive the mark before the throne, and before of the beast on his forehead, or the four living creatures, and on his hand; 10 he shall drink the elders and none could of the wine of the fury of God, learn that song, but the hundred which is prepared, without and forty-four thousand, who mixture, in the cup of his were bought from the earth. 4 anger; and he shall be tormentThese are they who were not ed in fire and brimstone in the defiled with women: for they presence of the [holy] messenare virgins: these [are] they gers, and in the presence of who follow the lamb whitherso- the lamb: 11 and the smoke ever he goeth: these were of their torment shall ascend bought from among men, as to the ages of ages :* and they

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It would be very unreasonable to infer the gloomy doctrine of eternal misery from the loose and figurative language of a prophetic vision, in opposition to the plainest dictates of reason and justice, and to the whole tenor of divine revelation. But if any one is disposed to lay undue stress upon this text, it may be sufficient to remark, that it is not here asserted that the torment continues, but that the smoke of it ascends to the ages of ages. The smoke of a pile in which a criminal has been consumed may continue to ascend long after the wretched victim has ceased to suffer. And a memorial of the punishment which has been inflicted on vice may rerain long after vice itself has been utterly exterminated. After all, as the prophecy relates wholly

shall have no rest day or night who worship the beast and his image, and if any one receive the mark of his name."

12 Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. 13 And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write: happy are the dead who die in the Lord henceforth: Yes, saith the Spirit; they rest from their labours; and their works follow them."

14 And I looked, and, behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sitting, like a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

15 And another messenger came out [from the temple], crying with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, "Put in thy sickle, and reap for the time is come to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 And he who sat on the cloud applied his sickle to the earth; and the earth was reaped.

17 And another messenger came out from the temple which was in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another messenger came out from the altar, who had authority over the fire thereof, and called with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in thy sharp sickle, and cut the clusters of the vine of the earth; for its grapes are fully ripe." 19 And the angel applied his

sickle to the earth, and cut off the clusters of the vine of the earth, and cast them into the great wine-press of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden, without the city; and blood came forth from the wine-press, even up to the bridles of the horses, for the space of a thousand and sixhundred furlongs.

CH. XV. 1 AND I saw another sign in heaven, great and wonderful; seven messengers having the seven last scourges: for in them the wrath of God was finished. 2 And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire; and those who had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over the number of his name, standing by the glassy sea, having harps of God. 3 And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the lamb, saying, Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways, O King of the nations. 4 Who shall not fear [thee,] [O Lord,] and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts are made manifest."

5 And after that I looked, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 and the seven messengers, who had the seven scourges, came out [from the

to states of things in the present world, the punishments threatened ought, in all reason, to be understood of temporal punishments, and not of the sufferings of a future life. So in Jude, ver. 7, Sodom and Gomorrah are represented as suffering the vengeance of aionian fire, i. e. of a temporal calamity, a fire which completely destroyed them.

temple,] clothed in pure white, linen, and girded about their breasts with golden girdles. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven messengers seven golden phials full of the wrath of God who liveth to the ages of ages. 8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no one was able to enter into the temple, till the seven scourges of the seven messengers were finished.

CH. XVI. 1 And I heard a loud voice [out of the temple,] saying to the seven messengers, "Go, and pour out the seven phials of the wrath of God upon the earth."

2 And the first went, and poured out his phial upon the earth; and a bad and a noisome ulcer fell upon the men who had the mark of the beast, and upon those who worshipped his image.

3 And the second [messenger] poured out his phial into the sea; and it became blood as of one dead and every [living] creature in the sea died.

4 And the third messenger poured out his phial into the rivers and springs of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the messengers of the waters saying; "Thou art righteous, who art, and wast, and art abundantly kind, because thou hast thus executed judgment: 6 for they have shed the blood of saints and of prophets, and blood thou hast given them to drink of which they are

worthy." 7 And I heard a voice, from the altar, saying, "Yea, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments."

8 And the fourth messenger poured out his phial upon the sun; and command was given to him to burn mankind in fire. 9 And mankind were burned with great heat; and yet men blasphemed the name of the God, who had power over these scourges; and reformed not so as to give him glory.

10 And the fifth messenger poured out his phial upon the throne of the beast and its kingdom became darkened : and men gnawed their tongues for pain; 11 and blasphemed the God of heaven, because of thein pains and their ulcers; and yet they returned not from their evil deeds.

12 And the sixth messenger poured out his phial upon the great river Euphrates; and its water was dried up, that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out from the mouth of the dragon, and out from the mouth of the beast, and out from the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, working miracles, [which go forth] to the kings of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of [that] great day of the Almighty God. 15 (" Behold, I come as a thief. Happy is he who watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and expose his shame.") 16 And the spirits

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