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"difobedience," the fickle is to be thruft; and Satan, the vine of it, with its clusters of his wicked inftruments, are to be gathered, cut down, and deftroyed. But this is not all: thus gathered, they are to be "caft into the wine-prefs of the wrath of God;" there, as a vintner treads out his grapes and mafhes them to pieces, never again to be united, Satan and his power are to be trod, and fo divided and deftroyed, as not to be able to impede the coming, or interrupt the peaceful reign of the LAMB OF GOD †.

I have been led to this interpretation of the feemingly myfterious, and yet beautiful group of figures, expreffing the meaning of the prophet, by finding that the word earth +, in many parts of the Scripture, is used as a metaphor for a wicked power or nation, for wickedness and fin in general, and the fource of fin; that the word vine is ufed for a power either good or evil: when reprefented as bearing its natural fruit, it is used for the Jewish church §, the church of Chrift ||, and Chrift himself; and when bearing wild, four, or bitter grapes, for a finful power or people: that a vine growing out of the earth, the fource of all evil, reprefents Satan, the evil fpirit; and that a, or one, vine of the earth in the fingular number, having clufters of grapes raised and nourished by, and united to it, is a beautiful figure for a number of wicked and ungodly powers, with their several hofts, collected and united together in one grand confederacy **: that a fharp fickle, is a proper trope for a rapid and great

* Eph. ii. 2.

Ver. 17, 18, 19.

Rev. xxx. 19, 20, 21.

See note on the word Earth, chap. iii.
Pfalm 1xxx. 8. Jerem. ii. 21. Ifaiah, v. 1.
Matt. xxvi. 29. Luke, xxii. 18.

John xvi. Ifaiah lii. 2.

**Deut. xxxii. 52. Ifaiah, v. 4. Ezek. xviii. 2.

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deftruction; and the gathering the "vine of the

earth, and cafting it into the wine-prefs of the "wrath of God," denote the utter deflruction of fuch confederacy, and the parties concerned in it. But that which chiefly feems to countenance this conftruction, however novel it may appear, is, that the prophet, having given this brief account of a great confederacy which is to come, enters into a particular defcription of the parties and of their defign, and denounces their utter deftruction among the events of the "feventh vial."

THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE REVELATION.

IN this fhort chapter, yet continuing his fummary of the third and laft woe, the prophet draws nearer to the particular history of the contents of the

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feven vials," and tells us, there were prefented to his view" feven angels, having the seven laft "plagues; and that in them is filled up the "wrath of God ." But it being the uniform practice of the divine Spirit of prophecy to give to the church affurance of his merciful protection, amidft the awful difpenfations of his wrath upon the wicked, fo it is not omitted upon this laft dreadful occafion: and therefore he adds, what ought to be the moft powerful of all motives with the believers in Chrift, to double their diligence, "And I faw, as it were, a fea of glafs § mingled "with fire, and them that had gotten the victory

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over the beaft, and over his image, and over "his mark, and over the number of his name, "ftand upon the fea of glafs, having the harps of

* Rev. xvi. 13, 14, 15, 16. xix. per. totum.
Rev. xix. per totum.
Ver. 1.

§ See chap. iv. "God."

"God". This place of holy protection, prepared of God for the righteous, is not to be the fea itfelf, but, as it were, or like unto, the fea. It was like unto the fea in its great extent and compass; because it was to contain all " who had feared God, "and given him the glory." It was like unto the fea in its natural ftate, calm, unruffled, and at perfect reft, amidft furrounding havoc and deftruction. It was like unto "a fea of glafs," because as glafs is a fubftance which receives and reflects, with accurate truth, the light of the fun, the great luminary of the terreftrial world, fo this place fhall receive and reflect, with unvaried purity, the light and truth of the ever-living God revealed through Jefus Chrift, the "Sun of righteoufnefs," and of the fpiritual world. This place is moreover faid to be "mingled with fire;" that is, mingled with the wrath of God, which fhall be there, ready to destroy the wicked who dared to approach near it, and to fave from all harm "them that have gotten the victory over the beaft, and over his image, and "over his mark, and over the number of his name." And upon this fea of glafs, that nation and the individual of every nation, wherever to be found, thus defcribed; or, to fpeak the literal fenfe of the text, all those who shall have refifted to the end, the blafphemous and atheiftical principles of French philofophy, fhall ftand in perfect fafety, prepared to receive their bleffed Redeemer, now ready to come to the marriage fupper. Yet more; they fhall be fo perfectly convinced of the divine goodnets and mercy in their miraculous prefervation, that, "having the harps of "God," they fhall fing" the fong of Mofes, "the fervant of God, and of the Lamb, faying, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God

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Almighty; juft and true are thy ways, thou "King of faints. Who fhall not fear thee, Q

Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art "holy; for all nations fhall come and worship "before thee; for thy judgments are made mani "feft *"

The righteous, and particularly those whofe love and fear of God have enabled them to triumph over the blafphemy of atheism, thus affured of the protection of God during the fiercenefs of his wrath, the feven angels are made ready to pour it out. "The temple of the tabernacle of the tefti66 mony in heaven is opened." The angels "come "out of it," clothed in pure and white linen, " and having their breafts girdled with golden

girdles" (to intimate the juftice and righteouf nefs of their awful commiffion); and feven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, are given to them.

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The prophet next informs us, that this "tem ple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, "and from his power; and no man was able to "enter the temple, till the feven plagues of the "feven angels were fulfilled t.". To understand the meaning of this comprehenfive verfe, it seems neceffary to inquire, in the first place, to what temple does the prophet here allude, for there are feveral mentioned in holy writ. He could not mean the tabernacle built by Mofes, nor the temple by Solomon, in which God condefcended to manifeft his will to his chofen people the Jews. He is here fpeaking of a future temple, and the former ones have long fince been deftroyed. Befides, they were made with hands, and locally fituated upon the earth; but this temple is now in heaven; that is,

* Ver. 2, 3, 4.

† Ver. 5, 6, 7,

* Ver. 8.

in the true church of Chrift, now with God, confifting of the faints and martyrs. They were indeed types of this temple, a more glorious temple; even the fame which Chrift faid he would "build "in three days," meaning in the hearts of men. The fame "temple of the living God," which Chrift, he in whom dwelleth all the fulness of "the godhead bodily," did build up, by the divinity of the truths of the holy word of God, operating effectually on the fouls of the members of his church. Of this temple of St. Paul speaks on fe- veral occafions. When writing to the Corinthian church, he says, "Know ye not, that ye are the "temple of God, and that the fpirit of God dwell"eth in you §?" If any man defileth "the temple "of God, him fhall God deftroy; for the temple of "God is holy, which temple ye are." Again, in another place, he tells them, "for ye are the temple "of the living God; as God has faid, I will dwell "in them, and walk in them, and I will be their "God, and they fhall be my people." The fame temple the prophet alfo mentions as poffeffed by the faints and martyrs, the first fruits unto God and his Chrift, already with God. They are "before the throne of God, and ferve him day "and night; and he that fitteth upon the throne "fhall dwell with them." And again, he more particularly defcribes it as coming down from "God out of heaven with the new Jerufalem**."

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The word heaven is a common figure for the church of Christ.

+ John, ii. 19.

‡ Col. ii. 9. § 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17.

2 Cor. vi. 16, 17, 18.

¶ Rev. vii. from ver. 9 to the end; but particularly for the words cited, fee ver. 15,

** Rev. xxi. xxii.

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