The Revelation of John With Notes, Critical, Explanatory, and Practical, Designed for Both Pastors and People Classic Reprint

Excerpt from The Revelation of John: With Notes, Critical, Explanatory, and Practical, Designed for Both Pastors and People

Let it now be strongly said and deeply ponderedz - This obvious and unquestionable moral purpose Qf the book may be relied on to guide us to its true interpretation. For no interpretation can be a right one unless it bears naturally and squarely toward attaining the obvious purpose of the book. It can not be admissible to put upon it or any part of it a construction which would frustrate or even materially emasculate its moral purpose. The reason of this will be obvious. Every sensible and earnest' author writes for a pur pose and makes his points bear toward its attainment. His good sense will appear in the wisdom and effectiveness of his adapta tion of means to his ends: his earnestness will be the guaranty that he will surely try to accomplish his purpose. Our author is wonderfully strong in his manifestations of earnestness - giving assurance therefore that he can not forget his great object in writing. We shall see that he is not deficient in the good sense that adapts his points to their obvious purpose.

Only for brevity's sake do I speak of this book as the product of John's own mind and heart. I hold the whole book to be inspired, and therefore really the mental product of John's Divine Teacher - the messages and the vision having been given him while in the Spirit. Their wise adaptation to great moral ends and that earnestness which breathes in every word and symbol are therefore primarily those of the Divine Spirit. - I extend the remark here made to the whole subject of language, style, symbol and figure. For the sake of brevity I Speak of all points that arise under this comprehensive head as if John were the uninspired and only responsible author of the book, and every feature of the style were due to his own taste, his own cast of mind and modes of speech. This way of speaking of the language and (poetry of a prophet is unobjectionable provided it be fully under stoo that it does not in any wise ignore his prophetic inspiration. For, however the fact may be explained, no one can deny that the style and language of each prophet is as truly his own, representing his own taste, culture, cast of mind and genius, as the style of Gibbon is his own. Or the style of Carlyle, his. As to explanation of this fact, it may suffice to say that God speaks to his prophets. To each in his own tongue, as Wise men now speak in one style to a child, in another to a youth or a man; in one style to men of no education; in another, to the educated, and in their own parlance to men of any given profession. That the inditing Spirit should adapt himself to the mind and tongue of each prophet is no mystery. The fact applies both to messages given to the prophet to be spoken or written verbatim, and to revelations made to his prophetic eye in vision, or through a revealing angel, or by any other mode of communicating the thought of God to the mind of man.

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