TRANSLATION. READING. men, and the chief captains, and men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond- the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 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? 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? TRANSLATION. CHAP. VII. Rewards and punishments, continued. God restrains the instruments of his wrath during the life of Josiah. A ND in connexion with these angels, to whom it was given to things I saw four angels hurt the earth and the sea. standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them that were sealed: and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. men with him, and smote Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that were with him at Mizpah. And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees," ver. 22, 25, 26. Thus did all persons both rich and poor "hide themselves from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;" "and they perceived when too late that the great day of his wrath was come," for he removed Judah out of his sight. a The seventh chapter, "in connexion with these things," returns to that point in the detail of the sixth seal where Josiah had obtained a promise from the Lord that his " eyes shall not see ALL the evil which he shall bring upon this place;" for he saw a part of it, inasmuch as the army of Nechoh appears to be the means used by the angel which had the sixth trumpet to loose the four angels "prepared to slay the third part of men, in obedience to the voice from the four horns of the golden altar (ix. 13—15); and it is accordingly seen that the Lord withheld his wrath 5 of the tribe of Juda were seal- round about the throne, and about ed twelve thousand. Of the tribe the elders and the four beasts, and of Reuben were sealed twelve thou- fell before the throne on their faces, sand. Of the tribe of Gad were and worshipped God, sealed twelve thousand. 12 Saying, Amen: Praise, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever 6 of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manas- and ever. Amen. seh were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day 9 In connexion with these things and night in his temple: and he I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, that sitteth on the throne shall which no man could number, of dwell among them. all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;' 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from 11 And all the angels stood their eyes. [SIXTH TRUMPET.-And the sixth messenger sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth messenger who had the trumpet, Loose the four messengers who are bound on the great river Euphrates. And the four messengers were loosed, who were prepared for the hour, and day, and month, and year, that they should slay the third part of men. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred thousand thousand and I heard the : during the life of Josiah by restraining the four winds of the earth (Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites) that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree, till they had "sealed the servants of God on their foreheads ;" and there were "sealed one hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of Israel." ¿ These are those who had had the seal of God on their forehead previously to the arrangement for the destruction of Judah, in which the 124,000 were sealed. D number of them. And likewise I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having throats of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three were the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their influences are in their oracles: for their false prophets, like unto tempters, had principles, and with them they do hurt. And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. : (And I saw another mighty messenger come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire and he had in his hand the Gospel open and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth. And he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and, when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And, when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. And the messenger whom I saw restraining sin and flesh lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth in ages of ages, who fashioned heaven and the things in it, and flesh and the things in it, and sin and the things in it, that there should be time no longer but in the days of the voice of the seventh messenger, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the Gospel which is open in the hand of the messenger restraining sin and flesh. And I went unto the messenger, and said unto him, Give me the Gospel. And he said unto me, Take, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the Gospel out of the messenger's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. And a reed like unto a rod was given unto me, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles; and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy one thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing in opposition to the God of the flesh. And, if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies and, if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed, These have authority to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy and have authority over peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues, to turn them to life, and to smite the flesh with all plagues as often as they will. And, when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast ascending from the pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them, and remove their offence from the street of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egvot. and for which cause our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall provide against their offence three days and a half, and shall not suffer their offences to be placed on record. And they that abide in the flesh shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that abode in the flesh. And after three days and a half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and their office was resumed; and great fear fell upon them that discerned them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven with a multitude; and their enemies discerned them. And within the same time was there a great earthquake; and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.) The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh suddenly.] [SEVENTH TRUMPET.-And the seventh messenger sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign in ages of ages. And the four and twenty elders who sat before God on their seats fell on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art about to come; because thou hast taken thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the flesh. And Jesus. was discovered in heaven, and there was seen in Jesus the ark of his testament and there were glories, and praises, and honours, and power, and great chastening. Ch. xi. v. 15.] a This refers to the period of the birth of Christ, when there was peace all over the world, which was proclaimed by a "multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE, good will towards men."-Luke ii. 13, 14. It is remarkable that a similar event took place at the building of the temple:-" Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build a house for the LORD God of Israel. And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God: but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build a house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall BE A MAN OF REST; TRANSLATION. 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, collecting golden offerings; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. READING. 2 And I saw the seven messengers which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. 3 And another messenger came and stood at the altar, collecting acceptable offerings; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. and I will give him REST FROM ALL HIS ENEMIES ROUND ABOUT: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name, and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever."-1 Chron. xxii. 6-10. The fulfilment of this promise is described thus: "For he (Solomon) had dominion over all the region on this side the river from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had PEACE on all sides round about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon" (1 Kings iv. 24, 25), who, when building the temple, thus said, But Now the LORD my God hath given me REST ON EVERY SIDE, SO that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father."."-1 Kings v. 4, 5. 66 The received translation renders this word " censer ;" but, as the Greek word is ßavorov, offering or incense (not ißavwrìv, censer), it is construed as above.-Λιβανωτὸς being derived from Λιβανος, Lebanon, a mountain in Syria, the "offerings" are described by this word because the cedar which was hewn on that mountain was a part of the material which David had been COLLECTING for the building of the temple; for he " commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. And David PREPARED [this accords with collecting offerings] iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight; also CEDAR-TREES in abundance: for the ZIDONIANS AND THEY OF TYRE brought much cedar-wood to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make PREPARATION for it. So David PREPARED ABUNDANTLY [this accords with there was given to him much incense or offering'] before his death."- --1 Chron. xxii. 2-5. That "the Zidonians and they of Tyre" hewed the cedar on the mountain of Lebanon is evident from the following:- -" And Solomon sent --: to Hiram KING OF TYRE, saying, Behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build a house unto my name Now therefore command thou that they |