a glorious triumph; we need not fear what the dread king that reigns there can do to us, for his power extends not beyond the permission of the Saviour, and in his own time that Saviour will call us forth to life, to die no more. 19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 19. _Write the things which thou hast seen._ An account of the vision which thou hast had, ver. 10‒18. ¶ _And the things which are._ Give an account of those things which thou hast seen as designed to represent the condition of the seven churches. He had seen not only the Saviour, but he had seen seven lamp-stands, and seven stars in the hand of the Saviour, and he is now commanded to record the meaning of these symbols as referring to things then actually existing in the seven churches. This interpretation is demanded by ver. 20. ¶ _And the things which shall be hereafter._ The Greek phrase rendered _hereafter_――μετὰ ταῦτα――means “_after these things_;” that is, he was to make a correct representation of the things which then were, and then to record what would occur “_after_ these things:” to wit, of the images, symbols, and truths, which would be disclosed to him after what he had already seen. The expression refers to future times. He does not say for _how long_ a time; but the revelations which were to be made referred to events which were to occur beyond those which were then taking place. Nothing can be argued from the use of this language in regard to the length of time embraced in the revelation――whether it extended only for a few years or whether it embraced all coming time. The more natural interpretation, however, would seem to be, that it would stretch far into future years, and that it was designed to give at least _an outline_ of what would be the character of the future in general. 20 The mystery of [92]the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and [93]the seven candlesticks which thou sawest, are the seven churches.