CHAPTER XIX.

FENCING THE PROPHECY.

THE integrity of this important prophecy is strictly guarded in the following solemn words of warning-(verses 18 and 19). For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book; if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.'

It is very difficult to arrive at the correct meaning of the first clause of the above quoted passage-partly owing to differences in the reading of different copies of the original, and partly owing to the translation given in our version, which, although supported by the texts of Lachmann, Griesbach, and Alford, is not a correct rendering of the original as it stands in the received text, which is supported, although with some hesitation, by Bloomfield. In the received text, the verb employed is the same as that used by St. Paul in Romans viii. 16: The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.' It involves the idea of giving joint testimony, of adding one's testimony to that of another. But besides this circumstance, the verb is not in the active, but either in the middle or the passive voice.

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If it be in the former, the meaning is, 'For I jointly with the parties before mentioned (namely the Spirit and the Bride) bear witness of Myself.' But if the verb be in the passive voice, the meaning will be, 'For I am jointly testified of to every hearer of the words of this book' that is, 'I am testified of both by the Spirit and the Bride.' If this be the correct reading, then this clause clearly belongs to the preceding sentence, and not to that which follows it. So read, the passage will stand thus-And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and let the hearer say, Come, and let the thirsty come, and let the willing take of the water of life freely; for I am jointly testified of to every hearer of the words of the prophecy of this book.' According to this view, the last clause contains the reason assigned for the exhortation given in the immediately preceding part of the sentence, to every hearer to unite in the invitation to the thirsty and the willing to come and take of the water of life freely. This reading limits the word hearer' in the exhortation to the hearer of the words of the prophecy-not, however, with the outward ear, but with the understanding heart; while the reason why every such hearer is urged to say Come' is that to him Christ is jointly testified of by the Spirit and the Bride, in the prophetic symbols of this book; and he who receives this testimony is bound to do his utmost to invite all to come and partake freely of that water of life which Christ alone can bestow.

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Such is the view we must take if we are to adhere to the reading of the received text; but Griesbach, Lachmann, and Alford substitute for the verb which denotes the giving of joint testimony, that which means simply to testify-throwing it moreover into the active voice. They omit the 'for,' replacing it by the personal pronoun I,' reading-'I testify to every hearer.' If we adopt this reading, we must regard the substance of the

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testimony to be, not what precedes but what follows. To this reading, however, there are two objections. Were the subject of the testimony what follows, it seems improbable that the connecting conjunction that' would have been omitted- I testify that if any man,' &c. We should have secondly a confusion of the speakers. It is evident from the tenor of what follows, in which the angel speaks of God in the third person, that the declaration beginning If any man,' &c., is made by him, speaking as an ambassador in his own person, and not in the person of the Deity, by whom he was sent. The attaching of the words 'I testify,' &c. to the succeeding clause therefore involves too sudden a transition from 'I' the Sovereign to 'I the ambassador.' According to the other reading again, this distinction is kept quite clear. What is spoken by the angel in the person of his Lord ends with the word 'book,' and he begins a separate sentence with the words If any man,' &c., in which he speaks in his own person as he had previously done in the 9th 10th and 11th verses.

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For these reasons it appears that there is some advantage in adhering to the words of the received text, and translating them thus- For I am jointly testified of to every hearer of the words of the prophecy of this book,' attaching this clause to the 17th verse, beginning the 18th verse with the words, "If any man,' &c., and throwing the 19th into the same sentence. The uncertainty attending the question of the correct reading of the original, however, is too great to admit of decisiveness in forming an opinion on the point.

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The phrase the plagues written in this book,' refers to the plagues of the seven vials mentioned in the Apocalypse, and shows that the emblems shadowing forth those plagues, were parts of the contents of the sevensealed volume, which is that mentioned here as this

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book.' In the 19th verse Griesbach, Lachmann, Bloomfield, and Alford read from the Tree of Life' instead of 'from the book of life;' and it is so rendered in the margin of many English bibles. This certainly appears to be the preferable reading; because we have afterwards mentioned, among the deprivations of the guilty person, the taking away of his part from the things written or described in this book. It is said of the redeemed, that their name or character is described in the Lamb's book of life; and every one whose character corresponds to that description will be entitled to all the enjoyments of the future life. It is hardly congruous therefore with this idea, to say that God will take away any one's part out of the book of life. But the connection of the Tree of Life with the holy city is so intimate, as to render it much more probable that it should be said that God will take away his part from the Tree of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things described in this book.

It is of more importance, however, to attend to the nature of the prohibition, which is thus enforced by such awful denunciations and threats. It is evidently designed to guard the prophecies from alteration. They predict the corruption of the church; and it might therefore be foreseen that there would arise, in the minds of the adherents of the corrupt and corrupting church, a strong desire to make in these prophecies such alterations as might tend to deceive men in regard to their being applicable to her. Hence the necessity of fencing them round by so strong a prohibition, enforced by such terrible threats.

This prohibition is not, however, to be limited to mere alterations of the text of the prophecies; it applies to all wilful misrepresentations of their meaning, by attempting either to withhold or explain away the truths which they reveal, or by misapplying them to mere political, instead

of spiritual affairs. It is designed to impress on all expositors of these predictions the necessity of exercising extreme caution and care, to guard both their meaning and their context against either addition or subtraction.

The prohibition is not, on the other hand, intended to deter men from minutely examining these prophecies, and endeavouring, with a humble dependence on the promised enlightenment of the Divine Spirit, to ascertain their true meaning; for a blessing is pronounced on those who keep the words of this prophecy-who retain them and revolve them in their minds, with a view to discover their signification and watch their fulfilment. What the prohibition aims at, is our approaching this investigation without due preparation, or under the influence of preconception and prejudice without perfect candour and impartiality, or in a vain and self-reliant spirit without a due feeling of entire dependence on Divine aid.