The Revelation of St. John the Divine : $b An interpretationAmes, A. H. (Alfred Henno)
Religion
The Revelation of St. John the Divine : $b An interpretation
Ames, A. H. (Alfred Henno)
Bible. Revelation -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
_Thirdly._ The law and the prophets found their special embodiments and
representatives in Moses (John i, 17) and Elijah (Malachi iv, 4, 5);
one the unequaled statesmen and legislator, the other the most striking
and, in many respects, the greatest of the long line of prophets. The
miracles ascribed to the two witnesses were actually wrought by these
two extraordinary and typical men. To Moses was given power to turn
waters to blood and to smite the earth with plagues. It was at the
prayer of Elijah that the heaven was shut so that it rained not but
according to his word.
_Fourthly._ Zechariah’s vision of the “two olive branches which through
the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves,” and which
are said to be “the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the
whole earth,” finds its most appropriate and exact fulfillment in the
Holy Scriptures, which testify of Jesus (John v, 39). And it was the
representatives of the law and the prophets, or Moses and Elijah, who
were chosen to stand by our Lord when he appeared in glory upon the
Mount of Transfiguration.
_Fifthly._ The “testimony” of the law and the prophets is distinctly
said by our Lord himself to have been “finished” when his own
forerunner, John the Baptist, appeared. “For all the prophets and the
law prophesied until John” (Matthew xi, 13); “The law and the prophets
were until John” (Luke xvi, 16).
_Sixthly._ Although the Jews professedly acknowledged the law and the
prophets to be of divine origin, our Lord emphatically charged against
them that they had by their glosses and traditions in effect abrogated
them; devitalizing them and making their authority to be a dead letter
(Matthew xv, 6; Mark vii, 13; Luke xi, 52).
_Seventhly._ At no period did this nullification of the power of
the Holy Scriptures reach such extremes as during our Lord’s active
ministry on earth. The dead bodies of the law and the prophets may
be said, without exaggeration, to have lain exposed in the streets of
Jerusalem, where our Lord was crucified.
_Eighthly._ The bodies of the two witnesses are said to have lain
“three days and a half.” As the period of our Lord’s active ministry
has been computed at three and a half years the number may refer to
that. But as three and a half is a symbolical number, designating a
half period, it may be used to designate the same here. The ministry of
our Lord was such a half period, which was not completed until it had
been supplemented by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
_Ninthly._ After the “three days and a half the Spirit of life from
God” is said to have “entered into” the two witnesses, “and they
stood upon their feet.” This was remarkably fulfilled on the day
of Pentecost, when, by the illumination and inspiration of the Holy
Ghost, the apostles were moved to draw from the law and the prophets
those convincing arguments and promises and appeals which led to the
conversion of thousands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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