16 And he hath onhisvesture and on his thigh a name written, KING604OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.16.And he hath onhisvesture.That is, this name was conspicuously written on his garment—probably his military robe. ¶And on his thigh.The robe or military cloak may be conceived of as open and flowing, so as to expose the limbs of the rider; and the idea is, that the name was conspicuously written not only on the flowing robe, but on the other parts of his dress, so that itmustbe conspicuous whether his military cloak were wrapped closely around him, or whether it was open to the breeze. Grotius supposesthat this name was on the edge or hilt of the sword which depended from his thigh. ¶A name written.Or a title descriptive of his character. ¶King of kings, and Lord of lords.As inch. xvii.5, so here, there is nothing in the original to denote that this should be distinguished, as it is, by capital letters. As a conspicuous title, however, it is not improper. It means that he is, in fact, the sovereign over the kings of the earth, and that all nobles and princes are under his control—a rank that properly belongs to the Son of God.Comp.Notes onEp.i.20–22. See alsover.12 of this chapter. The custom here alluded to of inscribing the name or rank of distinguished individuals on their garments, so that they might be readily recognized, was not uncommon in ancient times. For full proof of this, see Rosenmüller,Morgenland,vol. iii.pp.232–236. The authorities quoted there are, Thevenot’sTravels,vol. i.p.149; Gruter,p.989; Dempster’sEtruria Regalis, t.ii.tab. 93; Montfauçon,Antiq. Expliq.t.iii.tab. 39. Thus Herodotus (vol. ii.p.196), speaking of the figures of Sesostris in Ionia, says that, “Across his breast, from shoulder to shoulder, there is this inscription in the sacred characters of Egypt, ‘I conquered this country by the force of my arms.’”Comp.Cic.Verr.iv.23; Le MoyneadJer.xxiii.6; Münter,Diss. ad Apoc.xvii.5, as referred to by Professor Stuart,in loco.
16 And he hath onhisvesture and on his thigh a name written, KING604OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
16.And he hath onhisvesture.That is, this name was conspicuously written on his garment—probably his military robe. ¶And on his thigh.The robe or military cloak may be conceived of as open and flowing, so as to expose the limbs of the rider; and the idea is, that the name was conspicuously written not only on the flowing robe, but on the other parts of his dress, so that itmustbe conspicuous whether his military cloak were wrapped closely around him, or whether it was open to the breeze. Grotius supposesthat this name was on the edge or hilt of the sword which depended from his thigh. ¶A name written.Or a title descriptive of his character. ¶King of kings, and Lord of lords.As inch. xvii.5, so here, there is nothing in the original to denote that this should be distinguished, as it is, by capital letters. As a conspicuous title, however, it is not improper. It means that he is, in fact, the sovereign over the kings of the earth, and that all nobles and princes are under his control—a rank that properly belongs to the Son of God.Comp.Notes onEp.i.20–22. See alsover.12 of this chapter. The custom here alluded to of inscribing the name or rank of distinguished individuals on their garments, so that they might be readily recognized, was not uncommon in ancient times. For full proof of this, see Rosenmüller,Morgenland,vol. iii.pp.232–236. The authorities quoted there are, Thevenot’sTravels,vol. i.p.149; Gruter,p.989; Dempster’sEtruria Regalis, t.ii.tab. 93; Montfauçon,Antiq. Expliq.t.iii.tab. 39. Thus Herodotus (vol. ii.p.196), speaking of the figures of Sesostris in Ionia, says that, “Across his breast, from shoulder to shoulder, there is this inscription in the sacred characters of Egypt, ‘I conquered this country by the force of my arms.’”Comp.Cic.Verr.iv.23; Le MoyneadJer.xxiii.6; Münter,Diss. ad Apoc.xvii.5, as referred to by Professor Stuart,in loco.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,605Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;17.And I saw an angel standing in the sun.A different angel evidently from the one which had before appeared to him. Thenumberof angels that appeared to John, as referred to in this book, was very great, and each one came on a new errand, or with a new message. Everyone must be struck with the image here. The description is as simple as it can be; and yet as sublime. The fewest words possible are used; and yet the image is distinct and clear. A heavenly being stands in the blaze of the brightest of the orbs that God permits us here to see—yet not consumed, and himself so bright that he can be distinctly seen amidst the dazzling splendours of that luminary. It is difficult to conceive of an image more sublime than this.Whyhe has his place in the sun is not stated, for there does notappearto be anything more intended by this than to give grandeur and impressiveness to the scene. ¶And he cried with a loud voice.So that all the fowls of heaven could hear. ¶Saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven.That is, to all the birds of prey—all that feed on flesh—such as hover over a battle-field.Comp.Notes onIs.xviii.6;lvi.9. See alsoJe.vii.33;xii.9;Eze.xxxix.4–20. ¶Come and gather yourselves together.All this imagery is taken from the idea that there would be a great slaughter, and that the bodies of the dead would be left unburied to the birds of prey. ¶Unto the supper of the great God.As if the great God were about to give you a feast—to wit, the carcasses of those slain. It is called “hissupper” because he gives it; and the image is merely that there would be a great slaughter of his foes, as is specified in the following verse.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,605Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
17.And I saw an angel standing in the sun.A different angel evidently from the one which had before appeared to him. Thenumberof angels that appeared to John, as referred to in this book, was very great, and each one came on a new errand, or with a new message. Everyone must be struck with the image here. The description is as simple as it can be; and yet as sublime. The fewest words possible are used; and yet the image is distinct and clear. A heavenly being stands in the blaze of the brightest of the orbs that God permits us here to see—yet not consumed, and himself so bright that he can be distinctly seen amidst the dazzling splendours of that luminary. It is difficult to conceive of an image more sublime than this.Whyhe has his place in the sun is not stated, for there does notappearto be anything more intended by this than to give grandeur and impressiveness to the scene. ¶And he cried with a loud voice.So that all the fowls of heaven could hear. ¶Saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven.That is, to all the birds of prey—all that feed on flesh—such as hover over a battle-field.Comp.Notes onIs.xviii.6;lvi.9. See alsoJe.vii.33;xii.9;Eze.xxxix.4–20. ¶Come and gather yourselves together.All this imagery is taken from the idea that there would be a great slaughter, and that the bodies of the dead would be left unburied to the birds of prey. ¶Unto the supper of the great God.As if the great God were about to give you a feast—to wit, the carcasses of those slain. It is called “hissupper” because he gives it; and the image is merely that there would be a great slaughter of his foes, as is specified in the following verse.
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of allmen, bothfree and bond, both small and great.18.That ye may eat the flesh of kings.Of the kings under the control of the beast and the false prophet,ch. xvi.14;xvii.12–14. ¶And the flesh of captains.Of those subordinate to kings in command. The Greek word isχιλιάρχων—chiliarchs—denoting captains of a thousand, or, as we should say, commanders of a regiment. The wordcolonelwould better convey the idea with us; as he is the commander of a regiment, and a regiment is usually composed of about a thousand men. ¶And the flesh of mighty men.The word here means strong, and the reference is to the robust soldiery—rank and file in the army. ¶And the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them.Cavalry—for most armies are composed in part of horsemen. ¶And the flesh of allmen, bothfree and bond.Freemen andslaves. It is not uncommon that freemen and slaves are mingled in the same army. This was the case in the American Revolution, and is common in the East. ¶Both small and great.Young and old; of small size and of great size; of those of humble, and those of exalted rank. The later armies of Napoleon were composed in great part of conscripts, many of whom were only about eighteen years of age, and to this circumstance many of his later defeats are to be traced. In the army that was raised after the invasion of Russia no less than one hundred and fifty thousand of the conscripts were between eighteen and nineteen years of age (Alison’sHistory of Europe,vol. iv.p.27). Indeed, it is common in most armies that a considerable portion of the enlistments are from those in early life; and besides this, it is usual to employ mere boys on various services about a camp.
18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of allmen, bothfree and bond, both small and great.
18.That ye may eat the flesh of kings.Of the kings under the control of the beast and the false prophet,ch. xvi.14;xvii.12–14. ¶And the flesh of captains.Of those subordinate to kings in command. The Greek word isχιλιάρχων—chiliarchs—denoting captains of a thousand, or, as we should say, commanders of a regiment. The wordcolonelwould better convey the idea with us; as he is the commander of a regiment, and a regiment is usually composed of about a thousand men. ¶And the flesh of mighty men.The word here means strong, and the reference is to the robust soldiery—rank and file in the army. ¶And the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them.Cavalry—for most armies are composed in part of horsemen. ¶And the flesh of allmen, bothfree and bond.Freemen andslaves. It is not uncommon that freemen and slaves are mingled in the same army. This was the case in the American Revolution, and is common in the East. ¶Both small and great.Young and old; of small size and of great size; of those of humble, and those of exalted rank. The later armies of Napoleon were composed in great part of conscripts, many of whom were only about eighteen years of age, and to this circumstance many of his later defeats are to be traced. In the army that was raised after the invasion of Russia no less than one hundred and fifty thousand of the conscripts were between eighteen and nineteen years of age (Alison’sHistory of Europe,vol. iv.p.27). Indeed, it is common in most armies that a considerable portion of the enlistments are from those in early life; and besides this, it is usual to employ mere boys on various services about a camp.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered606together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.19.And I saw the beast.Notes onch. xiii.1,11.Comp.ch. xvii.13. ¶And the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together.There is allusion here to the same assembling of hostile forces which is described inch. xvi.13, 14, for the great decisive battle that is to determine the destiny of the world—the question whether the Messiah or Antichrist shall reign. There can be no doubt that the writer in these passages designed to refer to the same events—the still future scenes that are to occur when the Roman, the Pagan, and the Mahometan powers shall be aroused to make common cause against the true religion, and shall stake all on the issue of the great conflict. See the Notes onch. xvi.13,14. ¶Against him that sat on the horse.The Messiah—the Son of God. Notes onver.11. ¶And against his army.The hosts that are associated with him—his redeemed people. Notes onver.14.
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered606together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
19.And I saw the beast.Notes onch. xiii.1,11.Comp.ch. xvii.13. ¶And the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together.There is allusion here to the same assembling of hostile forces which is described inch. xvi.13, 14, for the great decisive battle that is to determine the destiny of the world—the question whether the Messiah or Antichrist shall reign. There can be no doubt that the writer in these passages designed to refer to the same events—the still future scenes that are to occur when the Roman, the Pagan, and the Mahometan powers shall be aroused to make common cause against the true religion, and shall stake all on the issue of the great conflict. See the Notes onch. xvi.13,14. ¶Against him that sat on the horse.The Messiah—the Son of God. Notes onver.11. ¶And against his army.The hosts that are associated with him—his redeemed people. Notes onver.14.
20 And the607beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were608cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.20.And the beast was taken.That is, was taken alive, to be thrown into the lake of fire. The hosts were slain (ver.21), but the leaders were made prisoners of war. Thegeneralidea is, that these armies were overcome, and that the Messiah was victorious; but there is a propriety in the representation here that the leaders—the authors of the war—should be taken captive, and reserved for severer punishment than death on the battle-field would be—for they had stirred up their hosts, and summoned these armies to make rebellion against the Messiah. Thebeasthere, as all along, refers to the Papal power; and the idea is that of its complete and utter overthrow,as ifthe leader of an army were taken captive and tormented in burning flames, and all his followers were cut down on the field of battle. ¶And with him the false prophet.As they had beenpracticallyassociated together, there was a propriety that they should share the same fate. In regard to the false prophet, and the nature of this alliance, see Notes onch. xvi.13. ¶That wrought miracles before him.That is, the false prophet had been united with the beast in deceiving the nations of the earth. See Notes onch. xvi.14. ¶With which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast.Notes onch. xiii.16–18. By these arts they had been deceived—that is, they had been led into the alliance, and had been sustained in their opposition to the truth. The whole representation is that of an alliance to prevent the spread of the true religion,as ifthe Papacy and Mahometanism were combined, and the one was sustained by the pretended miracles of the other. There would be a practical array against the reign of the Son of God,as ifthese great powers should act in concert, andas ifthe peculiar claims which each set up in behalf of its own divine origin became a claim which went to support the whole combined organization. ¶These both were cast alive into a lake of fire.The beast and the false prophet. That is, the overthrow will be as signal, and the destruction as complete,as ifthe leaders of the combined hosts should be taken alive, and thrown into a pit or lake that burns with an intense heat. There is no necessity for supposing that thisis to beliterallyinflicted—for the whole scene is symbolical—meaning that the destruction of these powers would be as completeas ifthey were thrown into such a burning lake.Comp.Notes onch. xiv.10,11. ¶Burning with brimstone.Sulphur—the usual expression to denote intense heat, and especially as referring to the punishment of the wicked. See Notes onch. xiv.10.
20 And the607beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were608cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
20.And the beast was taken.That is, was taken alive, to be thrown into the lake of fire. The hosts were slain (ver.21), but the leaders were made prisoners of war. Thegeneralidea is, that these armies were overcome, and that the Messiah was victorious; but there is a propriety in the representation here that the leaders—the authors of the war—should be taken captive, and reserved for severer punishment than death on the battle-field would be—for they had stirred up their hosts, and summoned these armies to make rebellion against the Messiah. Thebeasthere, as all along, refers to the Papal power; and the idea is that of its complete and utter overthrow,as ifthe leader of an army were taken captive and tormented in burning flames, and all his followers were cut down on the field of battle. ¶And with him the false prophet.As they had beenpracticallyassociated together, there was a propriety that they should share the same fate. In regard to the false prophet, and the nature of this alliance, see Notes onch. xvi.13. ¶That wrought miracles before him.That is, the false prophet had been united with the beast in deceiving the nations of the earth. See Notes onch. xvi.14. ¶With which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast.Notes onch. xiii.16–18. By these arts they had been deceived—that is, they had been led into the alliance, and had been sustained in their opposition to the truth. The whole representation is that of an alliance to prevent the spread of the true religion,as ifthe Papacy and Mahometanism were combined, and the one was sustained by the pretended miracles of the other. There would be a practical array against the reign of the Son of God,as ifthese great powers should act in concert, andas ifthe peculiar claims which each set up in behalf of its own divine origin became a claim which went to support the whole combined organization. ¶These both were cast alive into a lake of fire.The beast and the false prophet. That is, the overthrow will be as signal, and the destruction as complete,as ifthe leaders of the combined hosts should be taken alive, and thrown into a pit or lake that burns with an intense heat. There is no necessity for supposing that thisis to beliterallyinflicted—for the whole scene is symbolical—meaning that the destruction of these powers would be as completeas ifthey were thrown into such a burning lake.Comp.Notes onch. xiv.10,11. ¶Burning with brimstone.Sulphur—the usual expression to denote intense heat, and especially as referring to the punishment of the wicked. See Notes onch. xiv.10.
21 And the remnant were609slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, whichswordproceeded out of his mouth; and610all the fowls were filled with their flesh.21.And the remnant.The remainder of the assembled hosts—the army at large, in contradistinction from the leaders. ¶Were slain with the sword.Cut down with the sword; not rescued for protracted torment. A proper distinction is thus made between the deceived multitudes and the leaders who had deceived them. ¶Of him that sat upon the horse.The Messiah,ver.11. ¶Whichswordproceeded out of his mouth.Notes onver.15. That is, they were cut down by aword. They fell before him as he spake, as if they were slain by the sword. Perhaps this indicates that the effect that is to be produced when these great powers shall be destroyed is amoraleffect; that is, that they will be subdued by the word of the Son of God. ¶And all the fowls were filled with their flesh.Notes onver.17. An effect was producedas ifthe fowls of heaven should feed upon the carcasses of the slain.The general idea here is, that these great Antichristian powers which had so long resisted the gospel, and prevented its being spread over the earth; which had shed so much blood in persecution, and had so long corrupted and deceived mankind, would be subdued. The true religion would be as triumphant as if the Son of God should go forth as a warrior in his own might, and secure their leaders for punishment, and give up their hosts to the birds of prey. This destruction of these great enemies—which the whole course of the interpretation leads us to suppose is still future—prepares the way for the millennial reign of the Son of God—as stated in the following chapter. The “beast” and the “false prophet” are disposed of, and there remains only the subjugation of the great dragon—the source of all this evil—to prepare the way for the long-anticipated triumph of the gospel. The subjugation of the great original source of all those evil influences is stated inch. xx.1–3; and then follows the account of the thousand years’ rest of the saints, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment.
21 And the remnant were609slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, whichswordproceeded out of his mouth; and610all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
21.And the remnant.The remainder of the assembled hosts—the army at large, in contradistinction from the leaders. ¶Were slain with the sword.Cut down with the sword; not rescued for protracted torment. A proper distinction is thus made between the deceived multitudes and the leaders who had deceived them. ¶Of him that sat upon the horse.The Messiah,ver.11. ¶Whichswordproceeded out of his mouth.Notes onver.15. That is, they were cut down by aword. They fell before him as he spake, as if they were slain by the sword. Perhaps this indicates that the effect that is to be produced when these great powers shall be destroyed is amoraleffect; that is, that they will be subdued by the word of the Son of God. ¶And all the fowls were filled with their flesh.Notes onver.17. An effect was producedas ifthe fowls of heaven should feed upon the carcasses of the slain.
The general idea here is, that these great Antichristian powers which had so long resisted the gospel, and prevented its being spread over the earth; which had shed so much blood in persecution, and had so long corrupted and deceived mankind, would be subdued. The true religion would be as triumphant as if the Son of God should go forth as a warrior in his own might, and secure their leaders for punishment, and give up their hosts to the birds of prey. This destruction of these great enemies—which the whole course of the interpretation leads us to suppose is still future—prepares the way for the millennial reign of the Son of God—as stated in the following chapter. The “beast” and the “false prophet” are disposed of, and there remains only the subjugation of the great dragon—the source of all this evil—to prepare the way for the long-anticipated triumph of the gospel. The subjugation of the great original source of all those evil influences is stated inch. xx.1–3; and then follows the account of the thousand years’ rest of the saints, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment.