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Christians, during that period, would be bitterly persecuted and slain; but still, that, after the same period, the persecution would cease there, and the religion of Jesus become triumphant. The words of the Saviour in Matt. xxiv., compared with the tenor of Rev. XI., seem to lead us plainly and safely to these conclusions. And in these we may acquiesce, because historical facts are before us, which serve to show that the forty-two months or 1260 days are to be understood in their plain and obvious sense.

We may now come to the other periods, named in Rev. XII. XIII. The writer of the Apocalypse here passes to the second great catastrophe in his august drama, and commences it with a proem which is regressive. The woman clothed with the sun, and having under her feet the moon and stars, is a symbol of the church all glorious and resplendent in the eyes of God and all his faithful servants. The man-child who is born, and who is "to rule all nations with a sceptre of iron" (Ps. 2: 9. Rev. 12: 5), is doubtless the Messiah. The dragon ready to devour him at his birth, reminds us of Herod's attempt to massacre the infant Saviour at Bethlehem, when moved to such a deed by the great adversary of Christianity. The child caught up unto God, is the Saviour ascended to glory. The flight of the woman to the desert, for 1260 days, at a period subsequent to this (comp. vs. 5, 6), is a symbol of the church fleeing from the invading Romans and persecuting Jews, during the subjugation of Palestine. At Pella in the wilderness, beyond the Jordan, the Christians of Judea found safety and freedom, Rev. 12: 6, 14. The latter of these two verses designates again the same period of retreat and safety as the sixth verse, but in a different way, viz., it is designated (after the manner of Dan. 7: 25. 12: 7) by the expression time and times and a half a time, Rev. 12: 14.

When this period expires, then the church is freed from the desolating power in Palestine; as it was, of old, freed from the like power in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes. The similarity of events, in the two cases, gives occasion to adopt the same language in respect to the continuance of both.

Only one more period of the like extent remains. It is that designated in Rev. 13:5; where it is said of the beast which rises up out of the sea, that he should have power to persecute during forty-two months.' Who this beast was, we cannot, after the explanations given in Rev. xvii., well doubt. The persecuting power of imperial pagan Rome, and specially that power as exercised by Nero, is, beyond all reasonable question, symbolized by the beast described in Rev. 13: 3 seq.

The first position here, viz. that the persecuting power of pagan Rome is symbolized, will hardly be called in question. But the particular reference to Nero may not improbably be questioned; and therefore, a few words in respect to this will not be out of place.

To the beast is assigned seven heads and ten horns, Rev. 13: 1. That the seven heads represent so many kings or emperors, (for both were called Saoilsis by the Greeks), is certain from the explanation given in Rev. xvii. 10. "The seven heads. . . . are seven kings." But in the language of the Apocalyptist, the beast stands not only as a symbol of the imperial power of Rome, generically considered, but frequently for that power as exercised by some individual king or emperor, e. g. Nero. Such is the usage in chap. XIII. XVII., and occasionally elsewhere. It is important to note this; for otherwise the reader may be easily misled. Whenever the beast is distinguished from the seven heads, it then is employed as a generic symbol of

the imperial power; but when particular and specific actions or qualities of a personal and distinctive nature are predicated of the beast, it designates the imperial power as individually exercised, e. g. by Nero.

That Nero was in the exercise of this power when John wrote the Apocalypse, seems to be quite plain from Rev. XVII. 10: “Five [kings] are fallen; one is; the other has not yet come, but when he shall come, he will continue but a short time." The five fallen are Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. Of course Nero is the sixth; and he is therefore the one who now is. Galba, who reigned but seven months, makes the seventh. Some recent commentators indeed, e. g. Ewald, Lücke, and some others, begin to count with Augustus, and end with Otho; but this was not the usual method of reckoning among either the Romans or the Jews, (as I hope to show elsewhere); for, that they usually reckoned in the manner above stated, may be seen in Suetonius' Twelve Caesars. So also in Orac. Sybill. V. 12. 4 Ezra 12: 15. Josephus, Antiq. XVIII. 2. 2, also xvIII. 6, 10. xix. 1, 11. Chronicon Pascale, p. 533 (edit. Bonn.), also p. 360. And the same is true of some other ancient writers. This seems to fix both the date of the Apocalypse itself, and to designate the individual who exercised the power of the beast, when John wrote the Revelation.

But there are other things in the Apocalypse which serve also to characterize Nero, so as hardly to leave room for mistake. Thus in chap. XIII. 3: "[I saw] one of his heads [viz. of the beast] as it were smitten unto death; and his deadly wound was healed." Again in the explanatory part of the second catastrophe, Rev. 17: 8, the angel says to John: "The beast which thou sawest, was, and is not, and will come up from the abyss, and go to destruction; and those who dwell on the earth shall wonder,

(whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world), when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and will make his appearance," (лάotal). Once more in Rev. xvII. 11: "And the beast which was, and is not, even he is an eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth to destruction.”

To recount the efforts which have been made to interpret these passages, would of itself require somewhat of a volume. I have never seen, and cannot find, but one probable solution; and that is drawn from the history of the times, and particularly the history of what was said and generally believed respecting Nero, during his life-time, and even long after his death. I can give here only a mere sketch; but this may aid the further inquiries of the reader.

It was predicted by soothsayers of Nero, early in his reign, that he would be deprived of his office, flee his country, go to the East, and there recover dominion, specially in Palestine. Many foretold, that he would eventually recover the whole of his former dominion. The passage where this is fully related, may be found in Suetonius' Nero, c. 40.

This report was modified in the course of its diffusion, and assumed a great variety of shapes. The most usual one, by far, seems to have been, that Nero would be assassinated, receive a wound apparently deadly, recover from it, and subsequently go to the East and return from it with great power, ravage Palestine, lay waste the church, and finally re-enter Rome with fire and sword, and avenge himself of all his former enemies.

In consequence of this, the great mass of the community, at that period, do not appear to have believed in the reality of Nero's death at the time when he was assassinated. Suetonius has related (Nero, c. 57), that many even at Rome, for a long time, decked his tomb with flowers, ex

pecting and hoping that he would revive. Moreover, in consequence of such an expectation, persons feigning themselves to be Nero, appeared in several of the distant provinces, and made great disturbances. Suetonius has told the story of such an impostor among the Parthians; Nero, c. 7, see also Tacitus, Hist. I. 2. Tacitus has also told a similar story of another impostor in Achaia and Asia Minor, Hist. II. 8. This was in the region where the Apocalypse was written, and shows that such reports must have been familiar to John's readers. Dio Chrysostom, (a contemporary of Vespasian), in his Oratio de Pulchritud. (p. 371) relates, that most persons supposed Nero to be still alive.

Thus much for the belief of the heathen in general. Nor was this belief confined to them. Christians widely participated in it. Passages in abundance are to be found in parts of the Sibylline Oracles, some of which were written about A. D. 80, and others early in the second century, which show most plainly how vivid the persuasion was, that Nero would again make his appearance, notwithstanding his apparently deadly wound. The reader may find them at great length, in Orac. Sibill. IV. p. 520 seq. V. P. 547 seq., also p. 560 seq., p. 573 seq., p. 592 seq., p. 619 seq.; likewise in Lib. VIII. p. 688 seq., and p. 693 seq. (edit. Gallaeus); all written by early Christians, and expressive of their feelings and expectations. So in the oldest Commentary on the Apocalypse which is extant, viz. that of Victorinus († 303), it is said that 'Nero was the beast who received the deadly wound,' Rev. 13: 3. Lactantius adverts to the opinion, in his time, that Nero would yet make his reappearance, De Morte Persecut. c. 2.; and Sulpitius Severus, the ecclesiastical historian, near the close of the third century, adverts to the same expectation; Hist. Sac. II. 28. II. 29. Dial. II. So late as

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