Notes On The Apocalypse by David Steele

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The employments of this innumerable company of angels, besides
"ministering for them who shall be heirs of salvation," (Heb. i. 14;)
consist much in admiring contemplations of the glory of the "Lamb slain,
and in ascriptions of praise to him who is "worthy to receive power,"
etc. In this they cordially harmonize with the redeemed, whose
delightful exercise is "to show forth the praises of him who hath called
them out of darkness into his marvellous light:" (1 Pet. ii. 9:) and all
the honor, thus ascribed to the Mediator by both classes of worshippers,
is intended to terminate ultimately on the person of God the Father.
(Phil. ii. 9-11.) The Father "hath committed all judgment unto the Son,
that all men," yes, and all angels, "should honor the Son, even as they
honor the Father." (John v. 22, 23.)

13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under
the earth, and such are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever,

14. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell
down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Vs. 13,14.--In addition to angels and men, we have here enumerated
"every creature" in the whole vast universe, co-operating in the worship
of the two divine Persons as associated in concerting and executing the
plan of redemption. Thus the "host of heaven" and all inferior creatures
according to their several capacities unite in ascribing "blessing, and
honor, and glory, and power, unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb for ever and ever." And we may say with Nehemiah,--They
are both "exalted above all blessing and praise." (Neh. ix. 5.) Fallen
angels and reprobate men are excluded, from the nature of the case, and
by the unalterable laws of the moral government of the Most High, from
any participation in this service. (Ps. cx. 1; 1 Cor. xv. 24, 25; Luke
xix. 27.)--Can any one who denies the supreme deity of the Lord Jesus,
or who refuses to worship him, ever join the society of these
worshippers? Or, supposing the possibility of their admission, could
they be otherwise than miserable? O the "blasphemy of them who say they
are Jews!"--This is one of the sublime doxologies framed by the Holy
Spirit, for the use of all creatures on special occasions, but not to be
abused by "vain repetitions" as by Papists and Prelates. The like
specimens of the "high praises of the Lord" we have in Ps. lxix. 34.--As
the three ranks of worshippers here presented in vision to John,
beautifully harmonize in holy exercises, each in its appropriate sphere;
so the "animals and elders,"--the rulers and ruled of the church, take
precedence of all others in acts of solemn worship, and also close the
solemn service, saying,--"Amen."

The "sealed book" being delivered by the Father into the possession of
the Mediator, the whole creation awaits with confidence and joy the
development of the counsels of God, as they may affect the destinies of
his redeemed people. The "Lamb has prevailed to open the book," and his
established character is sufficient guarantee for success in
accomplishing the responsible work assigned him by his Father. This
feeling of confidence is expressed by the worshippers, not only by the
matter of their praise, but also by the closing word, "amen;" which word
is expressive of their "desires and assurance to be heard."

CHAPTER VI.

1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard, as it
were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

2. 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.

Vs. 1, 2.--The apostle "saw when the Lamb" proceeded to disclose the
contents of the book by breaking the seals in regular succession. It is
not requisite to suppose that each of the seals covers an exactly equal
part of the roll. These parts may be quite different in quantity or
length. It is obvious, however, that upon the breaking of any one seal,
that part of the roll which the seal was intended to cover, would be
disclosed to a spectator's view,--the whole of such part and no more. We
shall find as we advance that the several parts of this book are in fact
very different in extent. When the seventh and last seal is opened, the
whole contents of the book must of course be disclosed: and it will
appear that the last of the seals contained a much greater part of the
roll than any of the others. To a superficial reader this may be
apparent from the circumstance that within the compass of this short
chapter, six of the seals exhibit their contents.

By the most learned and sober divines the first six seals are considered
as disclosing the events which transpired from the time of the apostle
John till the overthrow of pagan idolatry in the Roman empire and the
accession of Constantine.

Let us consider the contents of these seals in order: Upon the opening
"of one of the seals," the first of course, "one of the four animals"
with a voice like "thunder, said, Come and see." This was the animal
like a "lion," emblematical of those bold and dauntless servants of
Christ who took their life in their hand and "went every where preaching
the word," (Acts viii. 4.) Many expositors, of secular notions and
affinities, imagine that some one of the Roman emperors is to be
understood as represented by him who rides on the white
horse,--Vespasian, Titus, or Trajan. To name such figments is enough to
confute them in the mind of such as have spiritual discernment. "White"
is not the divinely chosen symbol of bloody warriors or persecutors. It
is most frequently the emblem of purity, legal or moral. (Matt. xvii. 2;
Rev. iii. 4, 5.) "White horse" may represent the gospel, the Covenant of
Grace or the church. In this "chariot," (Song iii. 9,) or upon this
horse, as it were, Christ, "the captain of salvation" in apostolic
times, "went forth conquering, and to conquer." Much opposition from
Jews and Gentiles was raised against his gospel, especially upon his
exaltation to his mediatorial throne: but the opening of this seal
discloses the Father's purpose to bear out his Son in extending his
rightful conquests. (Isa. xlii. 4.) "The Lord gave the word; great was
the company of those that published it." (Ps. lxviii. 11.) The "bow and
the crown" as symbols, combine the military and regal character of
Christ, indicating his victories and succeeding exaltation. He shall
wound the heads over the large earth; therefore shall he lift up the
head. (Ps. cx. 6.) He is the "Prince of peace," and the primary object
of his mission by the Father is, to establish "truth and meekness and
righteousness" in the earth. Yet he is a "Lamb," but a Lamb that makes
war; and "in righteousness he doth judge and make war." (ch. xix. 11.)
In this last cited text we have an irrefragable proof of the correctness
of our interpretation of the symbols under the first seal. The rider's
name is, "The Word of God," (v. 13.)

3. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say,
Come and see.

4. 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.

V. 3,4.--The opening of the "second seal" furnishes occasion for the
"second animal" to cry, "Come and see." It is the customary business of
faithful ministers to invite the disciples of Christ to a contemplation
of his providential procedure. "Come, behold the works of the Lord."
(Ps. xlvi. 8.) This is the call of the ministry represented by the
symbol of a "calf or young ox." "Patient continuance in well doing" is
the special duty of Christ's servants in times of suffering. And such
seems to be the import of the emblem, the "red horse." By the horse,
singly considered, we are to understand a _dispensation_ of
_providence_. So we are to view it as a symbol in Zech. i. 8; vi. 1-8.
The prophet said, "O, my Lord, what are these?... And the man
answered,--These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro
through the earth." We speak familiarly of a "dispensation of the
gospel,"--the "white horse." Our attention is now called to a "red
horse,"--_fiery_, as the word imports. The character of the dispensation
is thus indicated as bloody. Wars should prevail so as to "take peace
from the earth." "They should kill one another." The instrument of
slaughter is seen,--"a great sword." _Mutual_ slaughter does not seem to
harmonize with the idea of persecution, by which the saints only "are
killed all the day long." History records that insurrections, battles,
massacres and devastations of an extraordinary kind took place in the
first half of the second century, by which more than half a million of
the Jews perished by the hand of the pagans; and a still greater number
on the opposite side were slain by the Jews. Thus the two parties who
rivalled each other in opposing the gospel and the progress of Christ's
kingdom, were made by him the instruments of their mutual destruction.
For he it is who directs the movements and course of providence, the
"red horse." "Behold what desolations he hath made in the earth!" "In
this text," says an eminent expositor, "earth signifies the Roman
empire." ... "Daniel, ... whose sealed prophecy is explained by the
opening of the Apocalyptical seals, denominates the Roman empire, 'the
fourth kingdom upon earth.'" We humbly suggest, that this does not
render the Roman empire _synonymous_ with _earth_, any more than the
Chaldean, Persian, or Grecian. And indeed the monarchs of those empires
put forth as extensive claims to universal empire as ever the Cesars
did. The word _earth_ is to be interpreted always by the context. Like
the term _world_, it may sometimes signify the Roman empire, as Luke ii.
1. But in other cases even within the compass of the Apocalypse, it is
not to be so understood without manifest confusion, as in ch. xvi. 1, 2.
The contents of _all_ the vials are there said to be poured out upon the
earth; but _earth_ is afterwards the special _object_ of the _first
only_. It follows that this term cannot be uniformly and safely in this
book interpreted as identical with and limited by the Roman empire. The
importance of accuracy here may become more apparent in our future
progress.

5. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say,
Come and see. And I beheld, and, lo, a black horse; and he that sat on
him had a pair of balances in his hand.

6. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of
wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see
thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Vs. 4-6.--The third of the four "animals" calls attention to the
disclosures made by breaking the "third seal." Hie "had a face as a
man," (ch. iv. 7,) indicating, as already said, active sympathy,
affectionate counsel and seasonable exhortation in calamitous times.
Christian ministers need "the tongue of the learned to speak a word in
season to him that is weary," when the judgments of God are abroad in
the earth; for some of these press, most sensibly, on the poor. Such is
the character of the dispensation symbolized by the "black horse."
Scarcity of bread is the judgment represented here by the combined
symbols. "Our skin was black like an oven, because of the terrible
famine." (Lam. v. 10; Zech. vi. 2.)--The rider "had a pair of balances
in his hand." The word translated "balances," literally rendered,
signifies a _yoke_,--_pair_,--_couple_.--In popular use, it came to
signify an instrument for weighing commodities, from the counterpoising
(double) scales. This symbol indicated famine,--that people should "eat
bread by weight and with care;" (Ezek. iv. 16;) and this is confirmed by
the "voice in the midst of the four animals:"--"A measure of wheat for a
penny," etc. The quantity of food, and the price, as here announced,
would seem to the English reader to express plenty and cheapness. But
when it is understood that the "measure of wheat" was the ordinary
allowance for a laboring man, and "a penny" the usual wages for _one
day_; a little more than a _quart_, for about _fifteen cents_: it may be
asked, How could the laboring man procure food and clothing for himself,
his wife and children? It is said that three times the quantity of
"barley" could be had for the same money; but being a coarser and less
nutritious grain, it would reach but little farther in sustaining a
family. Famine usually falls heaviest on the middle and lower classes of
society. Even in such times the "rich fare sumptuously every day."
Accordingly, "the oil and the wine,"--some of the staple productions of
Canaan,--are exempted from the providential blight sent upon the
necessaries of life. (Gen. xliii. 11.)

According to history, from the year 138, till near the end of the second
century, a general scarcity of provisions was felt, notwithstanding all
the care and foresight of emperors and their ministers to anticipate the
scourge. The Pharaohs on the throne had no Joseph to lay up in store in
the "years of plenty." But when our New Testament Joseph would thus
fight against the persecutors of his saints by the judgment of famine;
he gave previous intimation here to his disciples of the approaching
calamity, as his manner is to his own. (Luke xxi. 20-22.)

7. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the
fourth beast say, Come and see.

8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse; and his name that sat on him
was death, and hell followed with him: and power was given unto them
over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger,
and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Vs. 7, 8.--"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to
the house of feasting," according to the judgment of the wisest of mere
men; (Eccl. vii. 2,) and so we are invited here by a spiritually-minded
ministry,--"like a flying eagle." A scene of lamentation, mourning and
woe, is disclosed at the opening of the "fourth seal."--All the symbols
betoken augmented severity in the judgments. There is "pestilence" added
to the sword and famine. "The pale horse," or _livid green_, is the
emblem of pestilence. The Mediator conducts the destroying angel to
fulfil the will of God. "Before Him went the pestilence;" and by a
combination of awful symbols, the king of terrors,--"death," is
represented as slaying his victims, and "hell followed with him,"
satiated with his prey. "Sword, hunger, death and beasts of the earth,"
were commissioned to lay waste the fourth part of the then known world.

If we are to interpret the "beasts of the earth" literally, then we may
easily perceive how the depopulation produced by the other calamities
would make way for their increase and destructive ravages. But if we
understand these "beasts" as symbolizing the persecuting powers; then
adding these to all the other destructive agencies,--especially to the
"pale horse," the chief symbol in the group; we may readily perceive the
force of the combined emblems, a concentrating, as it were, of all
destroying agencies. Historians inform us, that "a pestilence arising
from Ethiopia, went through all the provinces of Rome, and wasted them
for fifteen years." This, added to the sword of war and persecution,
which lasted sixty years, according to some interpreters, or from 211 to
270, would seem to exhaust the events symbolized by the series of the
seals, except the seventh, so far at least as the sufferings of the
church are concerned. For under the fifth and sixth seals, as will
appear, nothing of a calamitous nature befalls the righteous.

9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held:

10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and
true, dost them not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the
earth?

11. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said
unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their
fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they
were, should be fulfilled.

Vs. 9-11.--At the opening of the fifth seal, none of the "four animals"
calls attention to its contents. This fact may indicate that no new
development of providence is intended, but rather the effects of the
preceding three, produced upon the church and saints of God; as the
sixth discloses the penalty inflicted on his and their enemies.

John saw the "souls of them that were slain."--Souls are visible only in
vision, (ch. xx. 4.) These souls were not slain, but they were the souls
of them, the persons, that were slain. (Matt. x. 28.) The enemy could
kill the body only, an essential part of the human person, although the
chief aim was to kill the soul. The ground of their suffering was the
same, as that of John, (ch. i. 9.) And from the first of this honoured
class,--Abel, mentioned in the Bible, to the last,--Antipas; the cause
is the same, and the distinguished name is the same. They are "martyrs
for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held." And however
tenaciously a person may hold other principles, even though he should
die for them, he is not a martyr. The aphorism is true,--It is not
suffering for religion, but "the _cause_ that makes the
martyr,"--suffering unto death from love to "the truth as it is in
Jesus."

These souls were "under the altar," in allusion still to the outward
means of grace under the Old Testament economy. It is not very material,
perhaps, whether we understand the altar for sacrifice or that for
incense, the comfortable doctrines, often taught in the Scriptures, are
here illustrated. _First_, That the redemption of the sinner is by the
atoning sacrifice of Christ. _Second_, That after death,--especially by
martyrdom, the soul is safe "under the altar,"--in fellowship with the
Saviour. _Third_, That the soul, "made perfect in holiness," retains a
deep conviction, that "vengeance belongs to God," (ch. xviii. 20; xix.
1-3.) _Fourth_, That "the spirits of just men made perfect," both desire
and need instruction relative to the future evolution of the divine
purposes. Adoring the infinite perfections of God, acknowledging his
holiness and acquiescing in his faithfulness; they cannot but desire a
farther display of his vindictive and distributive justice, as
indispensable to the manifestation of the divine glory, the vindication
of the claims of the divine government, the asserting of their injured
rights, and the completing of their eternal felicity. Accordingly, we
find their earnest plea admitted. "It was said unto them, that they
should rest."--Their repose can never be disturbed. The "white robes" in
which they are arrayed, are not spun out of their own bowels, like the
spider's web, either by their services or sufferings; but they are the
well known emblems of the imputed righteousness of their Redeemer,--fine
linen clean and white, the only righteousness of saints, (ch. xix. 8).
Persecution did not terminate under the preceding seals. Others, their
"fellow-servants and brethren, should be killed as they were." The
honorable roll of martyrs was not yet completed. The "little season" is
a very indefinite period in our mode of computation. But "with the Lord,
one day is as a thousand years,"--(2 Pet. iii. 8.) This "season" seems
to comprehend the whole period of persecution. Now, as we shall see, the
Roman empire, whether pagan or Christian, is still a ravenous
beast,--"devouring Jacob."

The policy of Rome pagan was to dictate the state religion. The idol
gods of the conquered provinces were generally adopted and enrolled
among those of the Pantheon. There was a niche for any and every god but
"Jacob's God." As he would permit no rival, (Exod. xx. 2, 23; Is. xlii.
8;) so the populace "would have none of Him," (Acts xvi. 19-21.) Such we
will find to be the policy of Rome Christian. There is no "communion
between light and darkness."

12. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a
great earthquake: and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
moon became as blood;

13. And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree
casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind:

14. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and
every mountain and island were moved out of their places;

15. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and
the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every
free-man, hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains:

16. And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb:

17. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to
stand?

Vs. 12-17.--The sixth seal is opened, like the rest, by the hand of the
Mediator, and here "his right hand teacheth terrible things." "By
terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our
salvation." (Ps. lxv. 5.) The awful scene disclosed would seem to be a
beginning of answer to the importunate cry of the "souls under the
altar," as in the foregoing vision.

Many expositors since the time of Cyprian in the third century, have
understood this seal as disclosing the scene of the last judgment. No
doubt the symbols here employed are suited to that event; but the series
of seals, trumpets and vials, not to speak of events still more remote,
wholly precludes such an interpretation. All the symbols under the sixth
seal betoken revolution. Such is their established and well known import
in other parts of Scripture.

The "earthquake" is more than a shaking of the earth. It is a
_concussion_ of the heavens also. As Haggai is interpreted by Paul, we
learn the civil and ecclesiastical change of the Jewish polity by the
"shaking of the heavens and the earth." (Hag. ii. 6; Heb. xii. 26, 27.)
The day of final judgment is so often referred to as certain, that no
special prediction was needed to assure us of that event. Indeed, the
description of the day of judgment is commonly employed by the prophets
to represent revolutions among the nations. So it is in reference to the
overthrow of Babylon, (Is. xiii. 13.)--of Egypt, (Ezek. xxxii. 7, 8,) of
Jerusalem, (Matt. xxiv. 7, 29.) The "sun, moon and stars" are emblems of
civil officers, supreme and subordinate, as well as of military
commanders. Their consternation and despair, now that they are cast down
from their exalted position, as heavenly luminaries darkened and hurled
from their orbits, betray their apprehension of deserved and inevitable
wrath. Indeed we may view the last three verses of this chapter, as
exegetical or explanatory of the preceding three. The whole frame of
imperial power underwent a change which is commonly called a revolution.
And the grandeur of the complex symbols, borrowed from the closing scene
of time, was never more appropriately employed by the Spirit of
prophecy, than in the present instance, to portray the total overthrow
of pagan power, idolatry and tyranny. The most conspicuous instrument in
the Mediator's hand by which this great revolution was effected, is well
known in history as "Constantine the Great." The great lights of the
heathen world, the powers civil and ecclesiastical, were not eclipsed,
but extinguished, heathen priests and augurs were extirpated and
idolatrous temples were closed. Christianity was professed by the
emperor himself, and his authority exerted for its recognition and
diffusion throughout his dominions. Thus did the God of Israel "avenge
his own elect, who cried to him night and day from under the altar;" and
thus did he afford unto them a "season of rest."

Constantine, however, was more of a politician than divine. To the
student of history he will appear in many respects a striking prototype
of William Prince of Orange, who on a less extended scale answers as an
antitype in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Neither of them
exemplified in their lives the "power of godliness". Like Charles the
Second, they did not consider primitive apostolic Christianity "a
religion for a gentleman." Constantine combined in his character the
properties of the lion and the fox. He was crafty and ambitious.
Usurping the prerogatives of Zion's King, he assumed a blasphemous
supremacy over the church, and proceeded to model her external polity
after the example of the empire. Among the Christian ministry, he found
mercenary spirits who pandered to his ambition,--"having his person in
admiration because of advantage." Advancing these to positions of
opulence and splendor, he could certainly rely upon them to support him
in his schemes of aggrandizement. Thus the mystery of iniquity, whose
working Paul discovered in his time, was nurtured to its full
development in Heaven's appointed time. (2 Thess. ii. 7, etc.) If on
such occasions mighty kings and valiant generals are stricken with
dismay, what shall be the terror of all the impenitent enemies of the
Lord and his Anointed when the heavens and the earth shall pass away and
leave them without these imaginary hiding places from "the wrath of the
Lamb!"

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