_AT THE OPENING OF THE SEVENTH SEAL, SEVEN ANGELS HAD SEVEN TRUMPETS GIVEN THEM: ANOTHER ANGEL PUTTETH INCENSE TO THE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS ON THE GOLDEN ALTAR. FOUR ANGELS SOUND THEIR TRUMPETS, AND GREAT PLAGUES FOLLOW._ _Anno Domini 96._... [ Continue Reading ]
_REVELATION 8:1_.— This chapter opens the _second grand period_ of this prophesy; which begins upon the opening of the _seventh seal,_ and is distinguished by the _sounding of seven trumpets._ This period of the _trumpets_ is of much longer duration, and comprehends many more events than any of the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I SAW THE SEVEN ANGELS WHICH STOOD BEFORE GOD, &C.— "And I saw the seven angels which I have before mentioned, and which then stood before the throne of God; and seven trumpets were given to them, that they might each of them successively sound an alarm; which I understood to be the symbol of so... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE SEVEN ANGELS—PREPARED THEMSELVES TO SOUND.— As the seals foretold the state and condition of the Roman empire before, and till it became Christian, so the trumpets foreshow the state and condition of it afterward. The _sound of the trumpet,_ as Jeremiah observes, ch. Jeremiah 4:19 and as eve... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE FOLLOWED HAIL, &C.— See the note on Revelation 8:2. Here is probably an allusion also to one of the plagues of Egypt, which was a destroying storm and tempest. See Exodus 9:23. It is a just observation of Sir Isaac Newton, that, in the prophetic language, tempests, winds, or the motions of clo... [ Continue Reading ]
AS IT WERE A GREAT MOUNTAIN BURNING, &C.— In the style of prophesy, a _mountain_ signifies a kingdom, and the strength of it, its metropolis or capital city. See Jeremiah 30:24. Great disorders and commotions, especially when kingdoms are moved by hostile invasions, are expressed in the prophetic st... [ Continue Reading ]
THERE FELL A GREAT STAR FROM HEAVEN, &C.— _Stars,_ in prophetic style, are figurative representations of many things. Among others, they signify _kings_ and _kingdoms,_—eminent persons of great authority and power. See Numbers 24:17. Daniel 8:10. Isaiah 14:12. _Rivers,_ and _fountains of waters to s... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FOURTH ANGEL SOUNDED, &C.— At the sounding of the fourth trumpet, _the third part of the sun, moon, and stars,_ that is, the great lights of the Roman empire, were eclipsed and _darkened,_ and remained in darkness for some time. See Jeremiah 13:16. Isaiah 13:10. Ezekiel 32:7. Genseric left the w... [ Continue Reading ]
I BEHELD, AND HEARD AN ANGEL FLYING THROUGH, &C.— Notice is here proclaimed by an angel, that the three other trumpets will sound to still greater and more terrible plagues, and are therefore distinguished from the former by the name of _woes._ They are not woes of a light or common nature, but such... [ Continue Reading ]