government. Let the reader forgive the writer this brief allusion to personal matters. They never can appear to others as they appear to himself. We have spoken of the disadvantages under which some parts of the commentary were written. During the writing the author was obliged to make many journeys into the country. He had no other way than to carry his manuscript with him, and hence different parts were written in different places. We had one settled principle of interpretation, and that was to compare Scripture with Scripture. Although we derived large aid from some commentators upon the Apocalypse, we derived much more from the Old Testament, and from the prophecy of the Lord Jesus concerning the destruction of Jerusalem. We always had this encouragement, when we came to a dark passage, that the aid which we needed, if not furnished by other writers in the church, we should in all probability find by a patient examination of the prophets. Scarcely anything tended more strongly to convince us of the divine character of the Apocalypse than the acquaintance which its author manifested with the Old Testament, and the reverence he showed for that book. “Let the Bible explain itself,” was our motto. No commentators upon the New Testament can be of one half the advantage to a student in gaining a knowledge of that book, that a thorough acquaintance with the Old Testament would give him. There are parts of the Old Testament which we do not understand, but these parts which we can understand convince us that the book

is immensely valuable; and that those who cast it away, or in any manner bring it into disrepute, are unsettling, undesignedly perhaps, the foundation of all revealed religion. It is scarcely necessary for us to say that the whole commentary has been revised from the form in which it first appeared. Many illustrations, facts, and arguments have been added, and the work thereby has been greatly enlarged. The introduction, containing the essays on the authorship of the work, and also on its date, is entirely new. By the arguments advanced under these heads we know not how others may be affected; but we are persuaded that the Apocalypse was written by the Apostle JoHN, and that it had its origin before the destruction of Jerusalem. It is in our view a divine book. It bears a striking resemblance to the Old Testament, especially to the book of Daniel, although we are aware it has points peculiar to itself. It is becoming every day better understood, and more highly appreciated. It is of vast importance to the understanding of it, that the date should be rightly fixed; and it is a matter of sincere gratification, that commentators, without distinction of sect, are coming more and more to believe that it was written prior to the great and last overthrow of the Jewish nation. We have proceeded upon the belief that the common English version is as correct a translation of the original, taken all in all, as any other; or, at any rate, that it is sufficiently correct to enable the careful student, even though he be but an English scholar, to gain the sense of the inspired writers. From such a conviction, we have avoided, as far as possible, the sprinkling of

our pages with Greek words and phrases. We would by no

means undervalue a knowledge of the original languages in which the Bible was written; but we are persuaded that it is not absolutely essential to the knowledge of divine truth. If men will but use the common version to the highest advantage to which it may be put, we have no fear that they will fail to get a proper perception of the meaning of the sacred writers. With these reflections we submit the work to the public. It has been prepared for publication in this form at the urgent request of many friends. If it shall be the means of doing any good, however small, let the praise be given to Him by whom our

life has been spared, and our strength measurably continued.

January 1, 1848.

INTRODUCTION.

We shall consider, in this place, the following questions:

First, Is the Apocalypse a Divine Book? and, By whom was it written ?

Second, At what time was it written ?

IS THE APOCALYPSE A DIVINE BOOK? AND BY WHOM WAS IT WRITTEN ?

I. The book claims to be of divine origin. It is said to be “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he [i. e., Jesus Christ] sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.”—Rev. i. 1, 4. This is the pretension of the book itself. John, the author, styles himself the “brother” of the churches, – their “companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus.”—See verse 9. This description certainly will apply, with much propriety, to John the apostle. The author of the book further states, that he was banished to “the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”— Verse 9. Was it not true that the apostle John was banished to that island on account of his devotion to the Christian religion ? We shall see, as we proceed. There are but two other instances in the book in which the author mentions his name, viz., xxi. 2, and xxii. 8.