Verse 19. "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." By the word of prophecy is here meant, the standing written revelation that God had given to his church, as appears by the two next verses. This is spoken of as surer than a voice from heaven. But the apostle has a special respect to the prophetical part of this written revelation, and most of all those parts that speak of the glory of Christ's kingdom, which is the principal subject of scripture prophecy, particularly that prophecy in the 7th chap. of Daniel, that speaks of the kingdom of heaven. This word of prophecy is as a light that shines in a dark place. The time of Christ's coming is here spoken of as the morning, when Christ, who is the Sun, shall arise and appear; and his happy kingdom that he shall then set up, is represented as the day time. But the time that goes before that, is here represented as night time, or a time of darkness, and we that live in that time, as being in a dark place. The word of prophecy is as a light shining in a dark place, or as the light of a bright star in this night, a light preceding the day of Christ's coming, like the morning-star that is a forerunner of the day. The prophecies of that day foretell it, as the day-star foretells the approaching day. The prophets were harbingers of that blessed season, as the morning-star is the harbinger of the day. By the prophecies of that day that go before it, something of the light of that day is manifested beforehand, and so is reflected to it, so that some of the light of the fire is anticipated, as by the day-star while it is yet night. If we give heed to those prophecies, we shall enjoy this foregoing light in our hearts, and so this day-star will arise; then our faith in these prophecies will be the evidence of that glorious Sun that is now not seen, and will render his light that is hoped for in some measure present in this dark world, and in our dark hearts. We snail in a measure have the joy of the morning of Christ's coming beforehand; we shall have a light in our hearts that will be an earnest and forerunner of the glorious light of that day, as the dawning of the day before sun-rise.
This world is a dark place without Christ, and therefore is dark till he comes, and until his kingdom of glory is set up. It appeared to be so now, especially in the circumstances of the Christians that the apostle now writes to, a world of heresies, grand delusions, and dreadful wickedness. They were in a dark place; they were not only surrounded with heathens, and subject to persecution, as appears by Peter's first epistle, that was written to the same Christians, as is evident by chap. iii. 1. but were in the midst of vile heretics and apostacies, as has been said already, and Christ delayed his coming, and they had many temptations to deny the present truth, and lose their hopes of the sun's rising. When a man is in a dark place, and is in danger of stumbling and falling, and being lost, and has a light held forth to him, to guide him in, it behoves him to take heed to it, and keep his eye upon it, lest he get out of the way and fall into mischief.
1 John ii. 18. "Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrists shall come, even now there are many antichrists, whereby we know it is the last time." It is not reasonable to think that the apostle supposed, that this time was the latter part of the space that should be from Christ's ascension to his second coming to the general judgment. For it is evident by what he here says, that he knew that the great antichrist should come before that. And if he supposed that this great antichrist now appeared, it is not likely that he would have expressed himself as he does, even now are there many antichrists. He would rather have said, "Even now antichrist is come;" and would have deciphered him, and pointed him forth. We must therefore understand the apostle thus: "It is now long since the apostles foretold the coming of antichrist, of which they told you in the first age of the Christian church, which reached from Christ's ascension to the destruction of Jerusalem; and now, since Jerusalem's destruction, has commenced the last state of things, the last age of the world, which is to continue from the destruction of Jerusalem, and the perfect abolishing of the Old-Testament dispensation to the end of the world, which the apostles had been wont to call the latter days, and last times; during which last age they foretold that antichrist should appear, 2 Thess. ii. 3., &c. 1 Tim. iv. 1., &c. 2 Tim. iii. 1., &c.; and now the spirit of antichrist doth very visibly appear; and there are many apostates and corrupters, that we may look upon as the forerunners of antichrist, and are therefore an evidence that we are now come to that last age in which it has been foretold that antichrist should arise; which should make you behave yourselves more circumspectly, for the apostles often told you that those last times wherein antichrist should appear would be perilous times."
John iii. 9. "Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin," i. e. he does not relapse, or fall away from righteousness into sin again; ["for his seed remaineth in him,"] i. e. the seed of which he is born of God, the same seed by which he is begotten of God, remaineth in him, and therefore he does not fall away to a state and trade of sin again, out of which he was begotten, and born by that seed.
Jude ver. 9. "He disputed about the body of Moses." The thing referred to is that mentioned Zech. iii. 2. The church of the Jews is called the body of Moses, as the Christian church is called the body of Christ. Moses was herein a type of Christ.
Jude ver. 14, 15. "Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment," &c. It is probable that this prophecy of Enoch had the more direct respect to the destruction of the ungodly of the old world by the flood. Those sinners of whom Jude speaks were like them, and their destruction should be like theirs. 2 Pet. ii. 5. It looks very probable that God would reveal his designs to Enoch, of overthrowing the world, seeing that he was so intimately conversant with him, and the world was so much corrupted in his days; which was probably one reason why God took him out of the world, he would not suffer one so dear to him to live in the midst of such a wicked, abominable crew, to have his soul continually vexed by them. Enoch's son Methuselah lived till the very year that the flood came; and, if so, it is exceedingly probable that God would reveal something to him of his intended destruction of them. This prophecy is applied to those heretics and their destruction, very much after the same manner as many prophecies of the Old Testament are applied in the New to other things, than what they most directly signified. Many of the prophecies of Scripture are applicable to many things; as Christ's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, is applicable to the destruction of heathenism in the Roman empire, and to the end of the world: the all-knowing Spirit has an eye to many things in what he saith. Where the apostle says, "Enoch prophesied of those," he may be understood to mean of those that were of this sort, i. e. of this lascivious kind of persons.
That Enoch prophesied of the flood, is yet more probable from the name that he gave his son, Methuselah, for the first part of it Methu, signifies he is dead, and shelah signifies sending; so that what is implied in the name seems to be when he is dead, God. shall send; and probably there is a prophecy couched in it, that when Methuselah was dead God should send that great catastrophe that Enoch had foretold which came to pass accordingly, for the flood came that very year that Methuselah died.
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints." It is observable that Enoch, the first of all the prophets, prophesied of the last event that is the subject of prophecy; and that event which is the greatest subject of the prophecies of Scripture, and in which the most of the prophecies of Scripture terminate. Though this is not the most wonderful event that is the subject of prophecy, for that was the death of Christ; yet this is the greatest event that is the fruit of that event. In this is completed the end of Christ's death; and this last coming of Christ, together with what is accomplished by it, is in many respects the greatest of all events; and it is so in this respect, that it is what all that God has made, and all that Christ has done and suffered, and all the events of providence from the beginning of the world, and all that he has foretold, ultimately terminate in. Therefore, with this does scripture prophecy both begin and end; it begins in Enoch's prophecy, which is the first prophecy we have an account of in Scripture; and it ends with this in the last words of the last of the prophets, even John, in the conclusion of the Revelations.
Rev. iv. 3. "And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." The rainbow we know was appointed of God as a token of his gracious covenant with mankind. God is encompassed with a rainbow, which signifies that as he sits and reigns, and manifests himself in his church, he appears as encompassed with mercy. As of old, the throne of God in the holy of holies, where God manifested himself in the church of Israel, was called the mercy-seat, so here there is a rainbow, the sign of God's gracious covenant, round about the throne that he sits on. This rainbow was in sight like unto emerald, which is a precious stone of an exceedingly lovely green colour; so green, that this colour appears in nothing else so lively and lovely. This colour is a most fit emblem of divine grace; it is a very lively colour; not so dull as blue or purple, and yet most easy to the sight, more easy than the more fiery colours of yellow and red. It is the colour of the grass, herbs, and trees, and all the growth of the earth, and therefore fitly denotes life, flourishing, prosperity, and happiness, which are often in Scripture compared to the green, flourishing growth of the earth. As the benign influence of the sun on the face of the earth is shown by this colour above all others, so is the grace and benign influence and communication of God fitly represented by this colour. This colour is the colour of joy and gladness. The fields are said to shout for joy, and also to sing, by their appearing in a cheerful green: as the colour red is made use of to signify God's revenging justice, in Zech. i. 8. and elsewhere; so is green the emblem of divine grace, as Dr. Doddridge observes: this does not imply that the rainbow had no other colour, but that the proportion of green was greater than ordinary.
Rev. iii. 4. "They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy:" that is, they are fit, as we often use the word.
The moon is a type of the revelation God made, and of the ordinances he instituted, under the Old Testament, or the Old-Testament constitution and administration, and is so used, Rev. xii. 1. vid. Notes in loc.; and it is made use of in Scripture also as a type of the church; it is so in the festival of the new moon; vid. Notes on Numb. x. 10. The church, under the Old Testament, in the institution of that festival, must be supposed to be represented under the type of the moon before its conjunction with the sun, i. e. Christ, the sun from whom the church borrows her light. The gospel light granted to the Old-Testament church in its different successive ages, was very much like the light of the moon in the several parts of the revolution it performs, which ends in its conjunction with the sun. The first calling of Abraham, the father of the nation and founder of their church, as separated from the rest of the world by God's revealing, and establishing, and sealing his covenant to him, and his seed, and bestowing the privileges of it upon them; and also the first institution of the administration of the old church of Israel by Moses; may each of them be looked upon as the beginning of the moon's course in this revolution, wherein it sets out in the beginning of its month for a conjunction with Christ, its sun, at the conclusion of it. Christ's coming, and so mercifully and remarkably appearing to Abraham from time to time, as his friend, and sometimes in the form of a man, as if incarnate, eating and drinking with him, and doing such great things for him, and by him; and particularly his entering into covenant with him, as the father and founder of this church; may be looked upon as this moon's first conjunction with the sun, or with Christ, from whence in her revolution she set out for the other conjunction at Christ's coming by his incarnation and resurrection. Abraham was not only the natural, but in some sense the spiritual, father of the church, (as he is called in the New Testament the father of believers,) and therein is a type of Christ, and was in some respect a father instead of Christ, till Christ came. After this, that nation and church at first was very small and weak, but they gradually grew greater, and more and more flourishing, till Solomon's time, which was about the middle of the space between Abraham and Christ, or the middle of the revolution from one conjunction to another; and then it was full moon. Then both the nation and church were in their greatest glory; but from that time they were gradually diminished and dwindled, first by the nation's dividing into two kingdoms, and then by the captivity of the ten tribes, and then by the captivity of the kingdom of Judah, and then after that by various calamities they suffered after the captivity, under the Persian, Grecian, and Roman monarchies; until at last the sceptre departed from Judah, and they were put under a Roman governor, and their light was as it were put out; as the moon, when she is just come to her conjunction with the sun.
But as the calling of Abraham, the father of the church and nation, may be looked upon as the beginning of the revolution with respect to the being and prosperity of the nation or church itself, so Christ's revealing himself to that people by Moses, the teacher of the church, and the father of the prophets, by whom the administration they were under was first instituted, and who gave the first written revelation to it, may be looked upon as the beginning of the revolution with respect to the light that church had by prophecy and revelation by God's word, as written in the Old Testament; which Old-Testament revelation is, as has been already observed, compared in Scripture to the reflected light of the moon in the night, to serve in the absence of the sun. Christ's coming as he did to the children of Israel in Moses's time, his appearing first to him in the burning bush, and in such a wonderful way redeeming them out of Egypt, (which was, if I may so say, the Old-Testament redemption,) redeeming them, and revealing himself to them by Moses, and entering into covenant with them by Moses; (their great prophet, and king, and intercessor like to Christ, and that was instead of God to Pharaoh, and instead of Christ to the people, and was as it were the Old-Testament Christ, and therefore that church which is called his body, by Jude ver. 9. of his epistle;) his coming down out of heaven to dwell among the people, whereby he as it were bowed the heavens and came down, and the mountains flowed down at his presence; his speaking to the people with an audible voice; his speaking to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend; his appearing in the form of a man to the seventy elders, (when they saw the God of Israel, and did eat and drink, which is spoken of as a new thing,) and afterwards leading them into Canaan, and working such wonders for them by Joshua, who bears the name of Jesus, and was called the shepherd and stone of Israel in Jacob's blessing of Ephraim, and was to the people in Christ's stead, as their leader and captain of salvation: I say those things were, as it were, the first conjunction of the moon with the sun, whence she set out in her revolution, when the gospel light, or the revelation of Christ, and the great truths respecting him, was but very small and dim, being almost wholly hid under types and shadows. After this, it gradually increased; the prophets that were afterwards in Israel were more clear than Moses was in what they taught of gospel truth. The succession of prophets began in Samuel, and David had much of the spirit of prophecy. Gospel light was much more full and clear in the revelations made by him than it had been in any revelation the church enjoyed before. But in the revelations that were given by the prophet Isaiah, gospel light is fullest and clearest of all beyond what we have in any other Old-Testament revelation. This was at about the middle of the space between Moses and Christ. In Isaiah, the Old-Testament church enjoyed gospel light as it were reflected from a full moon; there was no prophet afterwards that spake so fully of Christ; and afterwards the spirit of prophecy diminished. It continued in a smaller degree, till some time after the captivity, and then wholly ceased in Malachi, or a little after his time; and the minds of the people became more and more darkened, as to their notions of Christ, and his kingdom, till Christ's time; when they were exceeding corrupt and carnal, expecting a temporal Messiah. They were under blind guides that led them into the ditch, and had in a great measure made void the commandment of God by their tradition, as the light of the moon ceases as she approaches her conjunction with the sun.
Rev. xxi. 22. "And the street of the city was pure gold, like unto transparent glass." This does most livelily represent the perfect purity of that city and its inhabitants. In the most stately and magnificent cities in the world, however beautiful the buildings are, yet the streets are dirty and defiled, being made to be trodden under-foot; but the very streets of this heavenly city are so pure, that their being like pure gold does not sufficiently represent the purity of them, but they appear also like clear glass, or crystal. If there be the least dirt or defilement, it discovers itself in that which is transparent; but those golden streets appeared perfectly clear, without the least speck to lessen the transparency. Christ represents as though the saints that he has washed, though they are clean, yet while in this world have defiled feet, they need to be often washing their feet, but in that world their feet shall be perfectly pure, so as not at all to defile the streets. This is an evidence that what is treated of in those two last chapters of Revelations is the heavenly state of the church.
Rev. xxii. 11. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still," &c. That the thing which is intended by these words was, That now, the revelation of the mind and will of God was finished, the great standing rule of faith and practice sealed, no further means of grace were to be expected, and no additions to the word of God, and no other revelations, should be given till his last coming; and that therefore they that would not well improve those means and this revelation, and were not made righteous and holy thereby, should continue in a state of sin forever. God would never provide any further means than this word, those Holy Scriptures which were now completed and sealed. I say, that this is Christ's meaning, is much confirmed by the words of the same glorious person, with which are ended and sealed the visions of Daniel, Dan. xii. 9, 10. "Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified and made white and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand." Daniel desired a further revelation to be given to him concerning those matters that had been represented to him, as in the preceding verses; but Christ here signified to him that the vision and revelation, that was to be given concerning those matters unto the church of Israel, was now finished, completed, and sealed, and all the rest that he curiously desired to pry into was concealed, and should be so to the time of the end. And moreover signifies that this revelation of them, that already had been given, was sufficient for the ends that God designed it, to give wisdom, and be a means of the sanctification of his own people: but, as for the rest, they will not understand, nor will be reclaimed from their wickedness. If they would not make a good improvement of the revelation that is now given, neither would they if a further revelation should be given. Therefore they that will not be made wise and holy by what is revealed, shall have no further revelation, they shall have no further means to make them wise, or bring them to repentance. They that are wise and holy shall increase in wisdom, and be built up in holiness, by this revelation; but they that are unwise, let them continue without understanding, and they that are unholy and unrighteous, let them continue still to do wickedly.