things, as distinguished from earthly things, alluded to John iii. 12, « If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" So, to come up, or to be up, as upon a certain elevation, appears to be figurative in Scripture of this peculiarly spiritual insight. God revealed himself to Moses on the top of Mount Sinai, Ex. xix. 20; and from off the top of Mount Pisgah, Moses beheld the promised land, and Balaam in spirit contemplated the coming of Christ as "from the top of the rock," Numb. xxiii. 9. As it is said, also, of the exhibition of the source whence the true bread of life is derived, Ps. lxxii. 16, "There shall be an handful of corn in the earth on the top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure forever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun and men shall be blessed in him—all nations shall call him blessed." Jesus himself is said to have been taken up into an exceeding high mountain, when shown all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and it was in a high mountain apart that his transfiguration took place, when he was seen in glory-Moses and Elias ministering to him: so we may say that, for the contemplation of things in a spiritual sense, we need an intellectual atmosphere above the mists of literal interpretation.

And I will show thee things which must be hereafter,'-or, rather, the things which are to be after these things. The words at the close of the verse, rendered hereafter, being the same as those at the beginning, translated after this, and at the commencement of the seventh chapter, after these things. The sense of the invitation must, therefore, be this: Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which are yet to be exhibited; the use of the future tense, or that which is equivalent to it, being applicable to the process of representation, and not to events taking place at some distant period of time.

Vs. 2, 3. And immediately I was in the Spirit: and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and (one) sat on the throne, and he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

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Καὶ εὐθέως ἐγενόμην ἐν πνεύματι· καὶ ιδού, θρόνος ἔκειτο ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου καθήμενος, καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἦν ὅμοιος δράσει λίθῳ ἰάσπιδι καὶ σαρδίῳ, καὶ ἶρις κυκλόθεν τοῦ θρόνου ὅμοιος δράσει σμαραγδίνῳ.

§ 118. And immediately I was in the Spirit,'-or rather, I became in spirit, (§ 24,)—my mind was opened to see things in their spiritual sense. In conformity with the invitation, "come up," immediately I was up, or became so ;-to come up, being equivalent to being in spirit and to be in spirit, being in effect to come up. The door opened was in heaven-the apostle was invited to come up, of course into heaven; he did come up by

being in spirit-he was then in heaven. To be in heaven, therefore, in apocalyptic language, is to be in spirit. So, to see the things of the kingdom of God in their proper spiritual sense, is to see heavenly things; and to be in that position of mind, in which a spiritual view is obtained of all the mysteries of redemption, is to be, figuratively speaking, in heaven. The apostle had been in spirit during the previous exhibition; but that scene had entirely past away, and a new one is now to be contemplated. Without being in spirit, the apostle could not have seen the Son of man in the midst of the golden candlesticks; and, without being in spirit, he could not see the things about to be exhibited.

'And behold, a throne was set in heaven.'-Here commences a description of what we may call the first scene of the second act-the act itself continuing; and the same august assemblage being supposed to be present, at least as far as the conclusion of the 12th chapter. So far the scene apparently is laid in heaven; whatever is witnessed on earth, being seen as from heaven, or passing before the apostle's mind, as an exhibition in heaven of things on the earth. He does not say, I saw heaven opened, as the promise was given to Nathaniel, John i. 51, alluding to the greater things to be made known to him: "Hereafter ye shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man." The apostle is now to be considered in heaven-he had come up he has entered the opened door, and he is describing what he sees about him; he is in spirit-he has a spiritual discernment of heavenly mysteries; but he describes the mysteries revealed in figures, to be fully understood only by those who are like himself in spirit, or who possess an equally spiritual understanding.

The word rendered throne, signifies either a throne or seat; but if a seat, the character of the seat depends upon the circumstances under which it is represented to exist. A king may make use of any seat he pleases as a throne; it is not the seat which gives importance to the king, but it is the use the king makes of his seat which gives it the importance of a throne, and which makes it the instrument of exhibiting the occupant as a sovereign. From what is said in the remainder of this chapter, there is no doubt but that the seat the apostle here describes is strictly a throne-a seat marking out the pre-eminence and sovereign power of him who occupies it. As such, this throne represents some principle exhibiting the supremacy of the Most High, showing Him to be a sovereign; as we find by the homage described in the 8th verse, that the one sitting on this throne is no other than the Lord God Almighty.

Justice and judgment are declared to be the habitation of the throne of God, Ps. lxxxix. 14; and a king is spoken of as sitting upon a throne of judgment, Prov. xx. 8. In the mixed governments of modern times

the judicial authority is so frequently separated from executive power, that we are apt to associate with the supremacy of the ruler of a nation but an imperfect idea of complete sovereignty. Kings in ancient days, however, were judges; a king was then supposed to possess, in his own breast, the power of deciding between right and wrong of this we have a remarkable instance in the judgment of Solomon, (1 Kings iii. 25.) The tribunal, or seat of judgment, was then identical with the throne. This peculiarity is the more to be borne in mind because the exhibition in this scene is that of the Deity, in his sovereign judicial capacity especially-the Supreme Judge. The plan of mercy is not yet developed, although, as we shall see, there is in the splendid array described, an intimation of this divine attribute. We may take thet hrone, therefore, here alluded to, as a figure of the element of divine judgment.

§ 119. And he that sat, was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone.'-Or rather, in appearance like a stone, jasper and sardine. Not like two stones, but one stone, combining in appearance the qualities of these two gems. The jasper of the apostle was probably what we commonly term the diamond; distinguished for its impenetrability, or hardness, its pure transparency, and its brilliancy. It is said to have been of various colours, but this variety of colours may have arisen only from the reflected tint of surrounding objects. The sardine is supposed to have been the modern carnelian, (Rob. Lex. 311, 677,) deriving its name from its resemblance in colour to flesh, (sarks ;) flesh being, as we have before observed, a figure of righteousness, or moral perfection. Thus we have, in the characteristics of these precious stones, the representatives of inflexibility, purity, glory, and righteousness, as the peculiar attributes of the Sovereign Judge. These two gems might likewise be supposed to represent the strength and beauty which are said to be in the sanctuary of God, Ps. xcvi. 6; but it may be a question whether the present exhibition is that of the Deity in his sanctuary.

And a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.' -There is no article prefixed to the word translated rainbow, (iris,) and we might take the same liberty with it as our translators have sometimes taken with the term spirit, and say, The rainbow was round about the throne; but that is not material or necessary here, although it would appear more in keeping with the scriptural account of the design of this natural phenomenon.

Except in the vision of Ezekiel, (ch. i. 28,) the only allusion we have to the rainbow in any other portion of the Scriptures than the Apocalypse, is in the account given of the covenant made with Noah and his posterity, Genesis ix. 11-16; there the bow of God is said to be set in the heavens,*

"I do set my bow in the cloud," &c.

as a token of assurance that the earth shall no more be destroyed by a flood -that the ground should be no more cursed for man's sake, notwithstanding the wickedness and evil imaginations of man's heart were as great as they were before this fearful visitation.

The rainbow was thus a token of the sparing mercy of the Almighty; not, we may presume, that it was first created after the flood for this purpose, but having been originally created with the design of this application, its purpose was then pointed out. The formation of the rainbow is instrumentally effected by the reflection and refraction of the sun's rays from the falling drops of water; perhaps we may say, also, by the intermingling of these rays with the particles of rain: its beautiful appearance resulting from the united action of the sun, and of the element of water. Corresponding with this, by the eye of faith, we perceive, in the Gospel display of divine mercy, a result of the combined influence of the Sun of righteousness and of the fountain opened for the washing away of sin and uncleanness. In other words, the imputed righteousness of Christ and his atonement, are the two elements of the exhibition of divine mercy, affording the disciple a token of his preservation from the merited wrath of infinite justice. As the descendant of Noah looked to the bow in the clouds, and as the wounded Israelite in the wilderness looked to the serpent lifted up, so the Christian looks to the Gospel for an assurance of the covenant mercies of his God.

§ 120. But the rainbow about the throne on this occasion seems to have been wanting in the varied and splendid tints produced by a full and perfect action of solar rays. It was of a sea-green colour;-in appearance like an emerald. An appearance more indicative of the element of wrath than of that of mercy. Or, if we would carry the analogy further, the bow here may be said to reflect the colour prevalent in the clothing of the earth, rather than the brilliancy of that celestial orb, so happily a type of Him, who is said to clothe Himself with light, (the perfection of righteousness,) as with a garment. In this green rainbow, therefore, we may perceive the representation of an indistinct conception of the gracious provision of the new covenant, not yet supposed to be fully revealed. The scene contemplated, is that of the Deity seated on a throne of judgment; equivalent to the exhibition of the divine character under the old dispensation: the token of mercy being a token only of forbearance, and not of free and entire forgiveness. The beholders of this rainbow contemplate it as a reflection, in part at least, of their own moral perfection; an intermingling of their merits and of their works of propitiation with the merits of their Redeemer— the difference of colour arising from a deficiency in the optics of the beholder, not in the object itself—as if we were left to frame our views of the plan of redemption from the Old Testament alone; or as if, with the New Testament in our hands, we regarded the Gospel only as a part of the

old dispensation; or, as if the apostles on the mount had seen their Master ministering to Moses and Elias, instead of beholding, as they did, Moses and Elias ministering to him.

The law and the prophets were until John; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, (Luke xvi. 16.) The law set forth its propitiatory provisions, but they are legal provisions, and to be met by works of man's performance. The prophets, too, uttered their conditional promises of mercy; but they were conditional. The rainbow, under the old dispensation, was thus in sight like an emerald. The Lamb of God had not yet made his appearance; the Book of grace had not yet been opened; the Sun of righteousness, with healing in his wings, had not yet arisen. But this epoch we may suppose to be now about being reached, as we shall see in the next chapter.

Vs. 4, 5, 6. And round about the throne (were four and twenty seats, and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings, and voices. And (there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne (there was) a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Καὶ κυκλόθεν τοῦ θρόνου θρόνοι εἰκοσιτέσσαρες· καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς θρόνους εἰκοσιτέσσαρας πρεςβυτέρους καθημένους, περιβεβλη μένους ἐν ἱματίοις λευκοῖς, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν στεφάνους χρυσοῖς. Καὶ ἐκ του θρόνου ἐκπορεύονται ἀστραπαὶ καὶ φωκαὶ καὶ βρονταί· καὶ ἑπτὰ λαμπάδες πυρὸς καιόμεναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, αἱ εἰσι τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου ὡς θάλασσα θαλίνη, ὁμοία κρυσ τάλλῳ· καὶ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ θρόνου καὶ κύκλῳ τοῦ θρόνου τέσσαρα ζώα γέμοντα ὀφθαλ μῶν ἔμπροσθεν καὶ ὄπισθεν.

121. We class these three verses together, because they all relate more particularly to the throne, and confirm our apprehension that this throne is a seat or tribunal, especially of judgment: the scene presenting an exhibition of the Deity and his attributes, as they were contemplated prior to the gospel development of sovereign mercy.

And round about the throne four and twenty seats, and upon the seats,' &c.-The word here translated seats, is the same as that just before rendered throne; but it is plain that these seats (góro), are to be distinguished from that which is so repeatedly spoken of as the throne, or seat, encircled by the others. These twenty-four seats are subordinate thrones, but they may still be contemplated as tribunals of judgment ;—as it is said, in allusion to the spiritual Jerusalem, Ps. cxxii. 5, "There are set thrones of judgment—the thrones of the house of David." The figure may be borrowed from the council of twenty-three elders, said to have been constituted at Jerusalem, acting as a judicial assembly, (Cruden. Concord. art. Elder.) The number, twenty-four, may be put for the twelve patriarchs and the twelve minor prophets, representing so many heads or principles of the old dispensa