Notes On The Apocalypse by David Steele

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Many of the combatants fell in the conflict, "resisting unto blood,
striving against sin." "They loved not their lives unto the death." They
could give no stronger evidence of love to Christ and truth. Their
faithful contendings constituted their testimony. This testimony is
called in the 17th verse, "the testimony of Jesus Christ." Does this
mean that it _belongs_ to Christ? or that it _treats_ of him? The
language may probably be taken in either sense, or as embracing both. It
is Christ's testimony, as he is "the faithful and true Witness, who
before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;" or it may be
understood as bearing upon Christ in his person, offices and work. In
either sense his faithful disciples enjoy intimate communion with
himself, sharing the honour of his victories, (v. 5.) Therefore let the
heavens rejoice in prospect of _final_ victory, (ch. xviii. 20.)

12. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short
time.

13. And when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he
persecuted the woman, which brought forth the manchild.

Vs. 12, 13.--Here is a note of warning. The dragon, though ejected from
the symbolic heaven, the seat of imperial and ecclesiastic power, is not
yet bound with the great chain, (ch. xx. 1, 2.) His late defeat has only
incensed his rage, "as a bear robbed of her whelps." But the special
reason assigned for his "great wrath" is, "because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time." How does the devil come to this knowledge? Is he
omniscient! No. Was he joint-counsellor with the Most High? No. (Isa.
xl. 13, 14; Rom. xi. 34.) He must have derived this knowledge from
revelation; and from some instances in Scripture, we might infer that
the devil is more skilled in theology, especially in prophecy, than
many, if not most modern interpreters. In the time of our Lord's
humiliation he quoted and applied to him a prophecy in the 91st psalm,
(v. 11, 12.) He also dreaded being tormented,--"before the time." (Matt.
viii. 29:) from which it appears that he reasons of the "times and the
seasons" as revealed in the Bible. But by the phrase, "a short time,"
the devil understood,--and we are to understand,--not the time to
transpire till the end of the world; but, the time intervening between
his ejectment out of heaven, and the overthrow of Antichrist, when he is
to be bound. Now, we may learn from the _devil's calculation_, that all
those learned and famous divines, especially of the prelatic church of
England, "do greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures;" who say, that the
dragon was cast out of the symbolic heaven _in the time of Constantine!_
The space of duration _from Constantine till the millennium_, cannot be
relatively "short," under the New Testament dispensation. The time of
the dragon's being cast out of heaven, and the instruments by which this
was accomplished, are to be found clearly verified in the authentic
histories of the sixteenth century, to which some references have been
already made, as elucidating the events of the 11th chapter: for it is
to be still remembered that the former part of the 11th chapter _agrees
in time_ with the 12th, 13th and 14th chapters. At the end of the second
woe, which we supposed to be in the latter part of the seventeenth
century, about the year 1672, it is declared "the third woe cometh
quickly," (ch. xi. 14.) Now here it is said "the devil,--hath but a
short time." Taking both expressions as relating to the same period, it
follows that we are now living,--not in the time of the third woe, but
in the time of the devil's activity among the "inhabiters of the earth
and of the sea;" that is, the population of Christendom either in a
tranquil or revolutionary state. The enemy makes his _second_ attack
upon the "woman" in a new and unexpected mode of warfare. So long as
permitted, he never ceases to persecute the saints. When defeated in
_heaven_, he renews the assault upon the _earth_. If the edicts and
bulls of crowned and mitred heads have lost their power to terrify and
destroy the souls of men, he will try to effect the same object by other
means.

14. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she
might fly into the wilderness, into her place; where she is nourished
for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

15. And the serpent cast out of his mouth, water as a flood, after the
woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

16. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

Vs. 14-16.--To guard against the _second_ attack of the dragon, the
woman flees a _second_ time to the place of safety, which had been
mercifully prepared for her preservation before the war began, (v. 6.)
And she is in no less peril from her deadly enemy than before.

The "two wings of a great eagle" have furnished occasion to many fertile
minds for indulging in fanciful conjectures. To such persons nothing
occurs answerable to the symbol but some emblem of imperial power or
national sovereignty. And because the eagle was the visible symbol on
the military banner of Rome, it is conjectured that "the eastern and
western empires afforded protection to the church!" Why, the empire, in
both its wings, was the deadly enemy of the church, as we have already
seen! (ch. xi. 7.) Alas! what absurdities result from political bias!
The unlettered Christian will readily perceive under the emblem in the
text, a plain allusion to the gracious interposition of the church's
Redeemer in the days of old. "Ye have seen what I did unto the
Egyptians, and how I bare you on _eagles' wings_, and brought you unto
myself." (Exod. xix. 4.) Thus the Lord delivered his people and brought
them into a literal wilderness on their way to the promised land of
liberty. And now in a time of equal danger, he will "set his hand again
the second time" to deliver his people. He who delivered them from so
great a death as Pharaoh threatened, doth still deliver: in whom his
saints have ground to trust that he will still deliver them, (2 Cor. i.
10) The great and beneficial change accomplished among the nations by
the reformation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, whereby the
dragon was hurled from seats of ecclesiastical and civil power, did not
materially change the position of the "two witnesses." The time had not
yet come when they were to be called up into the symbolic heaven. They
must continue to prophesy till the close of the appointed period of 1260
years. Till the expiration of that definite period the true church of
Christ is not to be permanently established in any nation of the earth.
The actual condition of the church and of the nations among whom she
dwells, is delineated in these verses during the time subsequent to the
Protestant Reformation,--consequently in our own time. The "time, times
and half a time" of the 14th verse, are an obvious reference to Daniel
vii. 25: xii. 7; and are the same period as 42 months, or 1260 days, "a
day for a year." During this whole time the woman is nourished in the
wilderness "from the face of the serpent." Safety is secured for her
only "in her place."

"Water," as a symbol or metaphor, is of frequent occurrence and varied
import in Scripture. Among its diversified significations, perhaps that
of a destructive element is most common. (Ps. xviii. 4; xxxii. 6.) It is
indeed often used to denote gospel blessings, (as Is. lv. 1; John vii.
38; Rev. xxii. 17.) As here used, the "water as a flood," represents
something intended by the dragon for the destruction of the woman. If he
cannot destroy her by fire, he aims to overwhelm her with water. This
water comes out of the dragon's "mouth." So of the "unclean spirits,"
(ch. xvi. 13.) Soul-destroying errors,--heresies,--are undoubtedly
intended. If he cannot devour as a roaring lion, he will endeavour to
deceive and seduce as a cunning serpent. We are therefore instructed
hereby to look for "damnable heresies" to prevail, accompanied and
followed by popular commotions and licentiousness. The age in which we
live is remarkably characterized by false systems and impious theories.
Speculative atheism caused the French revolution, and led to the
erection of the United States government; which, having openly declared
independence of England, soon after virtually declared independence of
God. France, Germany, England and the United States, have all been
pervaded with infidel and atheistical sentiments; and these, whether
propagated under the name of _solid science_ or _polite literature_,
have corrupted the public mind for generations. In the name of science,
treating of the material or moral world, the agents of the dragon have
been exceedingly successful. Metaphysicians and geologists have
constructed systems which would exclude the Almighty from the heavens
and the earth. But however active and zealous these laborers in the
service of the dragon, they do not reach the popular ear but in part.
Those sons of Belial who devise false systems of religion under the name
of Christianity, have been still more pernicious to the nations, and
dangerous to the church. If the church of Rome cannot prevail with kings
as before, to execute her cruel sentences of death upon heretics, she is
not less active in disseminating her idolatrous and superstitious dogmas
among the nations. By freemasonry, odd-fellowship, temperance
associations, and a countless number of affiliated societies,--the
offshoots of popery and infidelity, the dragon still assails the woman.
Reason, toleration, humanity, charity and liberality are terms which
have been selected and abused by the servants of the devil "to deceive
the hearts of the simple." These are alike the watchwords of the
spiritual seducer and the political agitator. What dogma or heresy so
absurd,--what conduct so immoral, as not to find patronage in the
journals of the day? or not to find tolerance or protection under the
fostering wings of church or state? What is impiously called "free
love," as well as avowed infidelity and polygamy, are patronized by
constituted authorities in Christendom. When taking a survey of the
errors and systems of error, hostile to the honor of Messiah and the
free grace of his gospel, how few can be found in the different nations
of the earth, who "overcame by the blood of the Lamb!" The religions
established by the nations of the world are all more or less tainted
with the errors, and disfigured by the ceremonies of the church of Rome.
Surely we have before our eyes a constant fulfilment of the prophecy
under consideration. To all outward appearance the woman is in the
wilderness. She is in fact so obscure that some of her sons begin to
question her visibility. They are ready to cry in despondency,--"The
witnesses are slain."--They are mistaken. This is their infirmity. The
1260 years are not yet expired, nor the testimony finished. "When the
enemy shall come in _like a flood_, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up
a standard against him." (Isa. lix. 19.) The mystic woman is yet in the
wilderness, and there she is nourished with the hidden manna "a time,
times and half a time," "forty and two months, or twelve hundred and
sixty days,"--that is, years; for, as formerly noticed, all these
expressions mean the same period of time; the period during which the
witnesses prophesy, on the one side, and the gentiles tread the outer
court, on the other. The profanation of the holy city,--the church
nominal, and the testimony of the witnesses against that conduct, is the
same contest which in this chapter is represented under other symbols.
The waters of the symbolic flood have spread over all the nations of
Christendom, corrupting the very fountains of natural and moral science,
literature, politics and religion; so that hardly any principle is
accepted by the human mind as settled, but all is thrown into debate.
Man's intellect, craving substantial nourishment, and thirsting for
refreshment which nothing but the water of life can supply, vibrates
between ritualism and skepticism in our day. The flood from the dragon's
mouth, consisting of truth and error, a combination of Christianity,
refined idolatry and speculative atheism, fails to satisfy the necessary
cravings of the immortal soul. "There be many that say, Who will show us
any good?" (Ps. iv. 6.)

In this state of the popular mind, there is a general sentiment which
discountenances penalties inflicted for mere opinion. The cry of
toleration,--"freedom of speech and of the press," resounds in the
public ear among most communities since the dragon was cast down from
the mystic heaven. This popular sentiment is not an expression of the
law of charity, actuating hearts influenced by divine grace; but rather
originates from indifference alike to the claims of Messiah and the
destinies of mankind. Thus "the earth helps the woman." Indeed, the
nations of Christendom, contrary to their former policy, are now much
more tolerant of ecclesiastical than of _political_ heresies. With few
exceptions, the policy of the nations at the present time is to
discriminate, not among _churches_, but among _religions_. The popular
voice is obviously in favor of dissevering that alliance between church
and state, from which mankind have suffered in past generations. While
every earthly potentate, usurping the place and prerogatives of the
Mediator, assumed to dictate the faith and worship of his subjects, all
dissenters and recusants must necessarily be subjected to penalties.
Such was the policy of the dragon for centuries, while in the heavens of
ecclesiastical and civil power. The nominal church established by the
state, _defined heresy_; and the heresy found by the church became
rebellion against the civil authority. Of course the saints were then
executed as _traitors_. Even a superficial view of the signs of the
times will result in the conviction, that a great change has taken place
in the policy of nations and churches. The dragon has now prevailed with
most politicians and statesmen, as well as with most professing
Christians, to demand a total "separation of church and state;" by which
demand they do not mean a divorce of the unscriptural and
_antichristian_ alliance only or chiefly, but a simple and absolute
rejection of religion, and especially the _Christian_ religion, from any
connexion with or influence upon _civil_ affairs. This is undeniably the
avowed aim and declared desire of the great body of the population of
Christendom at the present time, (1870.) And what is this but an open
denial of the authority of the Mediator as he is the "Prince of the
kings of the earth?" Thus has the dragon, since his ejection from heaven
become a terrible "woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!"
And thus has the "earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood;" so
that the woman remains comparatively safe "from the face of the serpent"
in the very obscurity of her position. Some of her sons, from time to
time, venturing abroad from their secluded place in the wilderness,
becoming weary of sackcloth and aspiring to worldly distinction, have
been borne along by the waters of the flood, and _drowned in the general
deluge_. Against the force of this strong current of popular errors,
nothing will avail the seed of the woman but the "living water" which
Jesus imparted to the woman of Samaria. To him who partakes of this
water, those of the dragon will be distasteful; for "it shall be in him
a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John iv. 14.)
Since the middle of the seventeenth century, when by the reformation in
Europe and the British Isles, the dragon was cast down from the symbolic
heaven, he has been assailing in "great wrath" all ranks and degrees of
men, not, as before, with fire and sword, with scaffolds, gibbets,
thumb-screws,--torturing and destroying their mortal bodies, that he
might reach their immortal souls: but by bringing them together in
_voluntary associations_ on principles of the covenant of works,
subversive of the covenant of grace, and consequently aiming at the
drowning of the mystic woman. This the enemy of all righteousness has
been attempting, and with too much success, by public and professed
ecclesiastical and Christian associations; such as Jesuits, Socinians
and other self-styled Unitarians, Latter-day Saints, Mormons,--or by
combinations in secret and sworn confederacies; such as Odd Fellows,
Freemasons, Sons and Daughters of Temperance, with other affiliated
fellowships innumerable. The special subtlety of the serpent consists in
blending these two kinds of communions, so that under the name of
reform, moral and spiritual, those who fear God may be unconsciously
drawn into the snare. And alas! how many simple ones have been thus
carried away by the waters of the flood! And many strong men have been
thus cast down from their excellency. We are not to be surprised if we
find the witnesses few in our time,--the seed of the woman diminished
when the dragon makes his final attack.

17. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with
the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have
the testimony of Jesus Christ.

V. 17.--In this verse we have the last effort of the enemy, to destroy
the woman's offspring. It is the _third_ attempt, and, as we suppose, is
yet future. We cannot therefore, of course, be so exact or certain as to
the nature of this contest. Some things, however, are plain enough. The
dragon, disappointed in his efforts hitherto against the woman, so far
from ceasing the warfare, is only thereby the more exasperated. "The
dragon was wroth with the woman." Malice overcomes reason. He knows that
he cannot finally prevail,--that "no weapon formed against her shall
prosper;" yet he continues to vent his rage. The mode of attack is to be
different from what it was in the second struggle. He is said to "make
war,"--to resort to open violence, to employ the agency of the civil
power, the beast of the bottomless pit, (ch. xi. 7;) for this third and
last war, waged by the dragon agrees in time with the _slaying of the
witnesses_. This third onset agrees also with the "third woe-trumpet,"
the "vintage" and the last "vial;" and immediately precedes the
introduction of the millennium. "The remnant of the woman's seed" are so
called with reference to those of her offspring who had suffered death
under pagan and papal Rome, (ch. vi. 9.) Perhaps also we may suppose the
number to be comparatively few at the time of the last war with the
dragon; as during the whole period of the 1260 years, it was the aim of
the dragon, through his instruments, to wear out the saints of the Most
High. (Dan. vii. 25.) The character which the Holy Spirit gives of these
sufferers proves them to be the woman's seed. They "keep the
commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." This is
the special ground of the devil's hostility towards them. A more
comprehensive and definite description of true believers is not to be
found in the whole Bible. In matters of religion they adhere strictly to
the commandments of God. They will not introduce, nor permit to be
introduced, any corruptions into the doctrines of grace or into the
matter of God's worship. The temple, altar and worshippers must stand
the measurement of God's word in their fellowship. No human traditions
or innovations are to be tolerated. But besides their conscientious care
to have all the laws of the house of God duly observed, these remaining
witnesses sustain and propagate the testimony of their predecessors,
with such additional facts as they may have collected in their own time,
for the personal glory, the offices and work of Jesus Christ. This
testimony will necessarily bring them into collision with the children
of those who killed their fathers in the same quarrel. Like their
fathers, "they have the sentence of death in themselves, that they
should not trust in themselves, but in God which raiseth the dead,--not
accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection." (2
Cor. i. 9; Heb. xi. 35.) For as already hinted, this remnant is to
"overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,"
as others did; and in death to gain the final victory over death by
vital union to their living Lord, "being made conformable to his death."
(Heb. ii. 14, 15.)

CHAPTER XIII.

1. 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.

2. 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; and the
dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

3. 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.

4. 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?

5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and
blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two
months.

6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his
name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to
overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues,
and nations.

8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are
not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world.

9. If any man have an ear, let him hear.

10. He that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity; he that
killeth with the sword, must be killed with the sword. Here is the
patience and the faith of the saints.

Vs. 1-10.--This chapter may be considered as an explication or
commentary upon the seventh chapter of Daniel's prophecy, and a farther
elucidation of what is revealed under different symbols in the two
preceding chapters; and no one can have an intelligent understanding of
its contents without a competent knowledge of the symbols employed in
those chapters. Here the Holy Spirit has given a most graphic,
intelligible and comprehensive exhibition of the complex power which the
dragon employs, to persecute and slay the witnessing servants of Christ.
Hitherto the devil has conducted the war against the saints through the
agency of the beast of the pit, (ch. xi. 7,) and those allies called
"his angels:" (ch. xii. 7:) but there has been a vail of obscurity
hanging over these agencies. Who the beast and other allies of the
dragon are, it is the very _design_ of this chapter to disclose, with
greater precision and clearness than heretofore. In a word, we have here
the _full portrait_ of THE GREAT ANTICHRIST. The distinct features and
component parts of this complex and diabolical system of hostility to
the Lord and his Anointed, are presented in detail for our inspection.
And it is a fact, that by a competent knowledge of this hostile
combination, the suffering saints of God have been hitherto enabled to
direct their testimony with intelligence and efficacy against their
appropriate objects. And although the developments of providence in past
centuries, and those transpiring in our own generation, are calculated
to shed light upon this and collateral prophecies; yet the gross
conceptions of the illiterate in the contemplation of prophetic symbols
on the one hand, and the reckless disregard of scripture rules and usage
by the learned on the other, have greatly contributed to the present
lamentable ignorance and culpable indifference of most Christians. For
people cannot feel an interest in that of which they are ignorant. But
to be "willingly ignorant" of that which may and ought to be known, is
one of the characteristic sins of a generation of impenitent and profane
"scoffers." (2 Pet. iii. 3, 5.) On the other hand, all who humbly and
earnestly desire to know the mind of God for their direction in faith
and holiness, shall assuredly obtain the necessary instruction. (Dan.
vii. 16: viii. 15; John xvi. 13; 1 Cor. xiv. 38.)

In these first ten verses are contained the characteristics of that
beast whose origin is given, ch. xi. 7. There we had no particular
description of this personage; only he was the agent by whom the
witnesses were opposed in open warfare, and by whom they were finally
killed. Now we have a more full account of his origin, character,
achievements and duration. This personage is denominated a "beast." So
are designated other characters, who are very different from this, (ch.
iv. 6.) In that place we intimated that the authorized version is
imperfect; and that either "living creatures" or simply "animals," which
latter we prefer, is that which the reader is to understand from the
original word. Not only are the "four animals" different in origin,
nature and agency from the "beast;" but in all these respects they are
morally opposite. This is a ravenous beast; a beast of prey. Elsewhere
the word is translated a "wild beast," a "venomous beast," a "viper."
(Acts x. 12; xxviii. 4.) This beast is the same which appeared in vision
to the prophet Daniel, (ch. vii. 3.) Of the four great beasts which that
prophet saw, this is the last. All the preceding are described by their
resemblance to some known animals, but each is ferocious,--"a lion,
bear, leopard." The fourth is a _nondescript_; there is no species in
the animal kingdom that can represent it; only it was "diverse from all
the beasts that were before it," (v. 7.) These four beasts represent
"four kings," (v. 17,) that is, "kingdoms," (v. 23,) or _dynasties_. Now
all interpreters agree that these four dynasties are the same as those
symbolized in Nebuchadnezzar's dream, (ch. ii. 31-43.) The different
parts of the "image" answer to the four beasts; and these again are the
symbols of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires. Thus
far, all sober expositors are agreed. Also, there is a like agreement
that John's _first_ beast identifies with Daniel's _fourth_,--the Roman
empire. This is obvious from the general description by both
prophets,--"having seven heads and ten horns." (Dan. vii. 7; Rev. xiii.
1.)

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