And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Ver. 1. _And I saw an angd_] Constantine the Great, the Church's male child, Revelation 12:5 . _ Having the key_] Not that key, Revelation 9:1, but another. _ A great chain_] The successi... [ Continue Reading ]
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, Ver. 2. _And he laid hold on the dragon_] Revelation 12:7; Revelation 12:9. He took him in a field fight, and since then till now we have heard little of him, more than that he substitut... [ Continue Reading ]
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. Ver. 3. _And cast him into the bottomless pit_] That is, into the earth, Revelat... [ Continue Reading ]
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and _I saw_ the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received _his_ mark upon their foreheads, or in thei... [ Continue Reading ]
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This _is_ the first resurrection. Ver. 5. _But the rest of the dead_] Dead in Baal worship, as Ephraim, Hosea 13:1; dead in sins, as Sardis,Revelation 3:1 . _ Lived not again_] By repentance from dead works, or they r... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed and holy _is_ he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Ver. 6. _Blessed and happy is he_] The holy only have part in this resurrection, and are therefore ha... [ Continue Reading ]
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, Ver. 7. _Satan shall be loosed_] _i.e._ Suffered to rise up in open rage against the open professors of the truth, and to make havoc of them, as he did of the Waldenses, Hussites, Huguenots, professors in Germany, Net... [ Continue Reading ]
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom _is_ as the sand of the sea. Ver. 8. _Gog and Magog_] That is, pope and Turk, saith Aretius; the pope a covert enemy to Christ; the Turk an overt... [ Continue Reading ]
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Ver. 9. _And they went up_] As a flood, Ezekiel 8:9; Ezekiel 8:16 . _ And compassed_] As resolved that none should escape th... [ Continue Reading ]
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet _are_, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Ver. 10. _And the devil_] This Mr Brightman interprets of the Turk, called here the devil, because instigated and set a... [ Continue Reading ]
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. Ver. 11. _And I saw a great white throne_] A lively description of the last judgment, to show that henceforth, since the last great battle, the New Jeru... [ Continue Reading ]
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is _the book_ of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. Ver. 12. _Small and great_] It is the common opinion th... [ Continue Reading ]
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. Ver. 13. _And the sea_] Those that perish in the waters, and those whose ashes were scattered upon the waters, as John Huss's; whom af... [ Continue Reading ]
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Ver. 14. _And death and hell_] There shall be an utter end of all evils and enemies, nothing left to disquiet the Church. She shall see them afar off, as Lazarus did the rich man, and be able to say of them, as she did of... [ Continue Reading ]
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Ver. 15. _And whosoever_] As those priests were cashiered that could not prove their pedigree, Ezra 2:62,63 .... [ Continue Reading ]