A Bible School Manual: Studies in the Book of Revelation / An introduction, analysis, and notes, containing a concise interpretation according to the symbolic view, numerous references to authorities, and general mention of other interpretations, with the text of the American revised version edited in paragraphs, for the use of Bible students

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Stephen Alexander Hunter

1. General Introduction.

2. The Title.

3. The Author.

4. The Unity.

5. The Date.

6. The Place.

7. The Canonicity.

8. The Form.

9. The Theme.

10. The Occasion.

11. The Purpose.

12. The Interpretation.

13. The Outline Analysis.

14. The Literary Structure.

15. The Literature.

I The Prologue

I The Prologue, Ch. 1:1-3:22

II THE MAIN APOCALYPSE, Ch. 4:1-22:5

III THE EPILOGUE, Ch. 22:6-21

I A Duality of Forces in the Moral World

II A Triple Antagonism of Moral Life

III A Trinal Antithesis of Moral Character

IV A Threefold Theocratic Method in Man's Redemptive History

I The Four Schools of Interpretation

II The Seven Shibboleths of Interpreters

I The Seven Choral Symphonies of the Revelation

II The Seven Benedictions of the Revelation

I The Initial Series of Seven

Section 1.

Section 2.

Section 3.

Section 4.

Section 5.

A Bible School Manual

Studies in the Book of Revelation

An Introduction, Analysis, and Notes

Containing a concise interpretation according to the symbolic view, numerous references to authorities, and general mention of other interpretations,

With the Text of the American Revised Version Edited in Paragraphs, for the use of Bible Students.

By

Stephen Alexander Hunter, Ph.D., LL.D.

Pittsburgh Printing Company

Pittsburgh, Pa.

1921

Contents

Illustration
Map of Proconsular Asia. Following Ramsay, in St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen.
[pg 005]

Η ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ

The Text of Revelation given in this volume is that of the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copyright 1901 by Thomas Nelson & Sons, and is used by permission of the publishers.

TO
ALL MY CLASSMATES, FRIENDS,
AND
FELLOW PILGRIMS ON LIFE'S JOURNEY,

FOR WHOM THE BOOK OF REVELATION,
TINGED THOUGH IT IS WITH MYSTERY,
CONTAINS A MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE PURPOSE
IN CREATION AND REDEMPTION,
AND A VISION OF THE FAR GLORY IN THE WORLD BEYOND,

THIS VOLUME—

WRITTEN IN THE HOPE THAT THE INTERPRETATION OFFERED
MAY CONTRIBUTE IN SOME DEGREE TO A CLEARER APPREHENSION OF THE BOOK,
AND MAY HELP IN SOME MEASURE TO MAKE ITS MESSAGE RICH,
AND SWEET, AND ABIDING—

IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED

BY THE AUTHOR.

[pg 009]

Foreword

The manuscript of this Commentary was completed several years ago, but its publication was unfortunately deferred until the author's health no longer permitted him to see it through the press or even to be consulted in regard to modifications. For this latter reason no change of any kind has been made either in the language or the arrangement of the material. In the bibliography we have added the two recent monumental contributions to the literature on the Book of Revelation, commentaries by I. T. Beckwith and R. H. Charles. Had the author possessed the physical strength after their appearance, we feel sure that he would have drawn upon these two extensive works which are intended for the use of technical scholars.

The significance of Dr. Hunter's “Studies in the Book of Revelation” lies in its clear and accurate presentation of the results of the investigation of modern scholars, in language which is comprehensible to the intelligent reader of the English Bible. The Revelation of St. John has been an enigma from the earliest Christian centuries. On the one hand, it has been shunned because of its mysteriousness; on the other, it has been discredited for sober-minded, intelligent Christians by the absurd vagaries of its interpreters. Too often the caprice or predilection of the commentator, rather than impartial study, has determined the meaning of the closing book of the New Testament canon. The removal of this reproach has been one of the signal achievements of the Biblical scholarship of the last twenty-five years. Such a notable result has been accomplished by the discovery and the interpretation of the Jewish Apocalyptic, a type of literature that flourished from 200 B. C. on for several centuries. The Revelation belongs to this type of literature. It is the expression of a Christian's faith in the triumph of his Lord's kingdom through the use of symbolism and imagery peculiar to Jewish Apocalyptic literature. Our author, in common with all modern scholars, has used this key for unlocking the mystery of the closing book of the Christian Scriptures. By its employment he has made clear the meaning of the Revelation to the open-minded reader of the English Bible. On every page the work gives evidence of scholarship, wide in [pg 010] its range, and thorough in its grasp, as well as of sanity of judgment in the discussion of controversial questions. Because of these qualities, Dr. Hunter's treatise is worthy of wide circulation. It meets a special need at this time as it is especially adapted to counteract fantastic theories of interpretation and theology which are based on a misunderstanding of both the purpose and the symbolism of a New Testament book that ranks as an equal of the greatest pieces of imaginative literature.

The proofs have been read by Mr. Walter H. Millinger, of the senior class of the Seminary, and the publication of the book has been made possible only by the painstaking effort of a devoted friend and fellow-worker of Dr. Hunter, Mr. W. H. Wicks of the Pittsburgh Printing Company to whom both the author and the reader are deeply indebted.

James A. Kelso.

The Western Theological Seminary,
Pittsburgh, Pa.

[pg 011]

Master-Thoughts upon the Revelation1

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Rev. 22.13):—“This is the unifying thought of the whole book: nay of the whole Bible. The Revelation of St. John is the meeting ground of the Old and New Testament: what binds the long succession of books—by so many authors, of so many different ages—into a unity is expressed by the saying that ‘the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ The whole of prophetic literature yields its imaginative figures to adorn this final Revelation; all history is made one by the central thought of the kingdom of the world becoming the kingdom of Christ.”—Richard G. Moulton,—in Literature of the Bible.

“The Book of Revelation is the sum of all prophecy. It carries the devout reader to a height from which he can see the history of God's kingdom from its beginning to its consummation in glory. It is the sublimest book in the Bible, and its study awakens the profoundest worship.”—J. M. Stifler,—in unpublished Classroom Lectures.

“The Apocalypse constitutes the meridian of Hebrew poetry and art, embracing in its individual forms the most diverse elements.... If the laws of its construction be but recognized, the obscure Book of Revelation will present itself to our eyes as a radiant constellation, a symmetrical cathedral built upon a plan of perfect clearness and transparency.”—John Peter Lange,—in Commentary on the Revelation.

“The book has an imperishable religious worth because of the energy of faith that finds expression in it, and the splendid certainty of its conviction that God's cause remains always the best, and is one with the cause of Jesus Christ; but it is unreasonable to treat the detail of its phantasies as an authentic source for a history of the past or future.”—A. JÜlicher,—in Introduction to the New Testament.

“In the Apocalypse the emphasis placed upon the omnipotence of God rises to a climax. There only in the New Testament (except II Cor. 6.18) is the epithet Παντοκράτωρ [All-Ruler] ascribed to Him; and the [pg 012] whole purport of the book is the portrayal of the Divine guidance of history, and the very essence of its message that, despite all surface appearances, it is the hand of God that really directs all occurrences, and all things are hastening to the end of His determining.... It is the completeness of the Divine government to which the world is subject by the Lord of lords and King of kings, the Ruler of the earth and King of the nations, whose control of all the occurrences of time is in accordance with His holy purposes, that it is the supreme object of this book to portray.”—B. B. Warfield,—in art. “Predestination”, Hastings' Dict. of the Bible.

“The Apocalypse is doctrinally the connecting link between the Synoptists and the Fourth Gospel. It offers the characteristic thoughts of the Fourth Gospel in that form of development which belongs to the earliest apostolic age.... The points of connection between the Apocalypse and the Gospel of St. John are far more numerous than are suggested by a first general comparison. The main idea of both is the same. Both present a view of a supreme conflict between the powers of good and evil.... In both books alike Christ is the central figure. His victory is the end to which history and vision lead as their consummation. His Person and Work are the ground of triumph; and of triumph through apparent failure. Both present the abiding of God with man as the issue of Christ's work.”—Bp. Westcott,—in Introduction to John's Gospel, Bible Commentary.

“In Revelation, as in John's Gospel and First Epistle, the consciousness of a world-conflict, a world-process, and a world-triumph is manifest. The return of Jesus is contemplated in relation to the enlarged environment in which Christianity stood. Revelation testifies to the existence of the hope with which Christianity had begun; but also to the fact that into that hope had centered the fuller conception of Christ and His salvation which the apostles had taught, and the broadened vision of the purpose of God which history had made clear. Yet it was still the same hope, ‘Behold He cometh,’ and the prayer was still the same, ‘Come Lord Jesus’.”—George T. Purves,—in The Apostolic Age.

“The fundamental conception of the book is neither human weakness upon the one hand nor divine power [pg 013] upon the other, but divine power victorious through apparent human weakness, life triumphant over death.”—William Milligan,—in Discussions on the Apocalypse.

“However long the conflict, this book assures us of the ultimate triumph of the Lamb. That figure suggests Incarnation in order to Redemption; and the description of the New Jerusalem shows us Light and Life reigning eternally because the Lamb is ‘the lamp thereof’.”—Matthew B. Riddle,—in unpublished Classroom Lectures.

“St John knew himself to be a prophet, and his writing to be a prophecy; that he was commanded to consign his visions to a book was an assurance to him that their purpose would not be fulfilled in one generation or two. He sees the book going down to posterity, and like the Deuteronomist he endeavors to guard it against interpolation and excision. As he writes the last words upon the papyrus roll that lies upon his knee, the conviction dawns upon him that the Revelation of Jesus Christ was given for the warning and comfort of the whole church to the end of time.”—Henry B. Swete,—in The Apocalypse of St. John.

“The author of this great book has bequeathed to mankind a κτῆμα ἐς αεί, an imperishable possession, the worth of which lies in the splendid energy of its faith, in the unfaltering certainty that God's own cause is at issue now and here and must ultimately prevail, and that the cause of Jesus Christ is inseparably linked therewith, and the main aim of which, as is clear from every page, is to emphasize the overwhelming worth of things spiritual as contrasted with things material, and in the next place to glorify martyrdom, to encourage the faithful to face death with constancy, nay more, with rapturous joy.”—R. H. Charles,—in Studies in the Apocalypse.

The closing book of the New Testament with its prophetic outlook and divine forecast, leaves us in the attitude of expectancy:—“Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.”—The Epistle to Titus, Ch. 2:13.

[pg 014]

Preface

The purpose of this volume is to present in concise form the general thought and meaning of the Book of Revelation, to give an analytic view of its contents, and to summarize the results of critical study. It is intended both as an aid to interpretation, and as a guide to the use of the many valuable commentaries which are now accessible to the English reader. It is specially designed to meet the needs of the student in the theological seminary or the modern Bible school, the busy pastor in his field, the teacher of adult Bible classes, the Christian Association worker, and the general reader of the Bible. With this object in view it essays to provide in a direct and helpful form (1) the essential points of Introduction; (2) an Analytic Study of the book which aims to discover its meaning as a whole rather than to deal with it text by text; and (3) a brief statement in a series of Appendices of some of the underlying conceptions which give color to its thought and enter into its literary structure.

The increased impetus given to Biblical study by advanced scholarship in late years has created a demand for a class of works that give the results attained by the masters of exegesis and critical research, without attempting to give the various steps by which these results have been reached. And it is one primary aim of this work, while attempting to give a fresh statement of the teachings of the book, and to present such thoughts as have come to the Author in the course of extended study, at the same time to give due consideration to the varying opinions of others, and for the most part to reproduce in the form which these have taken in his own mind the best and most satisfactory explanations of the many difficulties in the book which have hitherto been given by leading scholars and commentators. For the book has proved a fertile field for expositors that has been widely even if not always well worked in the past, while in the last half-century really substantial progress has been made toward the general interpretation; and it may be confidently assumed that any one who ignores these results has almost certainly nothing to contribute to the solution of the real difficulties that confront us. In response to extended popular inquiry some excellent commentaries and expository works on the [pg 015] Revelation have been prepared in late years for the general reader. And it is in order to further meet this requirement of intelligent Bible study, and to contribute in some measure to what is believed to be one of the most common needs of the general student of Scripture, a comprehensive view of each book, that the publication of the present Studies in the Book of Revelation has been undertaken.

It is necessarily true that a work so largely poetical in its thought as the Apocalypse, and appealing so much to the imagination, does not lend itself easily to logical analysis. Every such division, if exhaustive, must be in a measure arbitrary. The main purpose in attempting it is to present the principal ideas of the book in what is conceived to be their proper relation. And in this we need not assume that the particular outline which we adopt was formally in the mind of the writer. It is quite enough if we can be assured that the formative ideas were conceived of in somewhat the same relation, and that the analysis we accept at least measurably represents the author's point of view. This form of statement enables us to grasp the contents of the book in their entirety and to retain them in memory.

The view presented in the Analysis and Notes of this volume is not intended to be controversial but interpretative. Hence other views of particular passages have often not been stated, or are given only in foot-notes, and no special effort has been made to support the view given by any extended discussions, as that would lead us too far afield for the purpose in mind. For those who wish a wider view, references are given to well-known authorities. Much that might have been said has been left out for the sake of brevity; for in this busy age few find time for extended study, and the great works on the Revelation often lie unread on the shelves. To reach the man of this generation the message must be short, clear, and decisive. And with this in view the chief aim is to show that the general meaning of the Revelation can be clearly understood, whatever difference of opinion there may be concerning the more difficult portions; and as a contribution toward this end to give in a direct form what the Author of the present work regards as the correct method of interpreting it. Other interpretations have been introduced where they serve to illustrate this main purpose, or have special force and afford additional light, or have been widely accepted and have affected the course of opinion. The outline interpretation [pg 016] given in this work, while it does not follow without deviation any particular view throughout or in every respect—for a blind acceptance of any one method of interpretation would often block the path to better knowledge, and perhaps cause us to miss the real meaning—yet it accepts the principles of the Symbolical or Spiritual School as affording in the main the best solution of the problems of interpretation. The authorities cited in connection with any passage, when not quoted, though they may differ somewhat in statement, will be found to hold in some form the view given in the analysis.

It is not without considerable hesitation, and a personal sense of the shortcomings of the present work, that it is now given to the public. It necessarily contains much that is already familiar to the reader, and it should be regarded as an effort to present in concise form and in one's own way what has been gathered through many years of patient study, and by constant comparison with the works of the best commentators, together with such thoughts as have come to the Author in the course of his inquiry. And if thereby the reader should be in any measure led to a clearer understanding or a more careful study of this marvellously beautiful and strangely eloquent message of Christ to his church which is contained in the Book of Revelation—the meaning of which has been too often misunderstood by the Christian reader, or passed by as an insoluble mystery,—it will be to the Author an abundant reward for his effort and a cause for personal gratitude to Almighty God.

Stephen A. Hunter,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[pg 017]

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