THE object of the writer of this Commentary is simply to give the reader his views of Revelation.

Every man reading the Revelation to St. John, is bound to have an opinion or belief of his own.

A careful examination of the writings of the prophets is necessary to obtain a right understanding of their import and meaning.

Most men have 'to confess their ignorance of the Revelations, because they have not bestowed the necessary time in investigation, to have a right understanding of their import and meaning; Many have thought that Prophecies called for the labors of ecclesiastics only,  as persons best qualified to interpret them; while others have thought that Apostolic succession 'imparted' to a favored few a true "knowledge of them, which was not to be questioned; and other's considered the prophecies as dark arid mysterious, and speaking of things which are "yet to be fulfilled, in some time to come; and great and learned men differing in ; opinion as to the 'time, it was conjectured that prophesy was not to be investigated, and could only be certainly known when fulfilled. A Revelation not to be understood,' is a contradiction in itself. A thing Revealed, is knowledge imparted.

The Writer is of the opinion that all prophesy has been fulfilled, and that the visions of St John was a Revelation of the fulfillment of what was before written by the Prophets. The Savior, before his death had said to his disciples -"Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but ray words shall 'not pass away, till all be fulfilled." And He said to John, "Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be."

in the writings of the old prophets, there was much that was secret in other words, not understood for what is not. understood is not seen, heard or known, is hid, is secret. The vision that John had was in that state or attitude of mind adapted to reveal or make known those things in the writings or words of the prophets which were to his brethren not known, but which to him were known communicated to him in a trance or vision. It is said that God talks, by his Spirit, his providence and his word, with every man; but men are not in a frame of mind to hear, and see, and know what is communicated: consequently they remain ignorant. When Moses, in the providence of God, was called to behold the burning bush, Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight." If Moses had not put himself in a right, state of mind, there probably would have been no burning bush, but if there had been, it could not have been of any possible use to Moses, if he paid no attention to the sight. But Moses complied immediately, and understood from it that God, was not the God of the dead, but of the living, when he heard a voice issuing from it, saying, I am the God of Abrahams Isaac, and Jacob who were dead, and yet were alive.

So St. John was in the Spirit, by which we understand a right state of mind: and in a trance or vision, he saw and heard and understood the 'things before spoken of by the prophets, which were shortly to come to pass, or take place, among the then existing nations the Jewish nation having been dispersed from Judea, their landed inheritance, and scattered through all the nations of the four quarters of the eastern, part of the world,,


A revealing of a vision is merely making known to what is known by the revelator. A revealing 6'r making known things which are to come hereafter, is impossible, except they are known, and when known beforehand, being made significant or signified as true to any one, that one can make known the same, as true, to another.

John, in his introduction, does not make data of the year or month in which he had the vision, which he was commanded to write; neither does he mention his own age, or where, or in what place he was when he wrote the book. He was commanded to write, in the vision, to only seven churches. These churches were expecting the second coming of the Messiah, as predicted by the prophets, and the time was close at hand when the 70th year would come, and the New Jerusalem be built to Messiah the Prince.

It is generally believed, that John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos in A. 1). 96 ; but the 70th year, spoken of by Daniel, was A. D. 70; and if John wrote his vision of the Revelation in A. D. 96, he being 5 years younger than Christ, would make the age of John 91, and this would be 21 years after the fulfillment of the prophesy. If the Revelation to John was to inform the churches that the prophecies were to all be fulfilled in three years and an half from the time he Wrote, it shows that he must have written the book A. D. 66, and then John's age would be 61 then the Revelations must have been in the churches 30 years before he was banished to the isle of Patmos, A. D. 96. John describes himself as being in the Spirit on the Lord's day, by which we understand he had a vision or a trance, in which, as it were, he heard a great voice like a trumpet, and was in the Isle of Patmos, that was so called.

The prophet Daniel, in his prophecies, said, " I was standing on the bank of the river Ulai, by which we understand he in a vision there. So, also, we understand that John-was only in vision, in the island of Patmos. Where John was when he saw the vision, and where the book was written, no one knows, but it it is conjectured it was written at Ephesus or ; Philadelphia.

If John wrote the Revelations in A. D. 166, and sent it to the churches, then the book was in the seven churches during the three years and a half preceding A. D. 70, which brings on the first persecution or Jewish war, so .called, in A. D. 66. It is said that a second persecution w ; as commenced against the . church in 95, and that John was thrown into a, .cauldron of boiling oil, but was miraculously preserved. In A. D. 96, he was .banished to the island of Patmos,....and in A. D. 100 he died, ; being 95.

The Romans, in prosecuting the war against the Jews made no distinction between .unbelieving and believing Jews or Christians.

In A. D. 66, Vespasian was ..-sent by Nero to make war against the Jews.

Disturbances in Cesarea between the Jews and the idolaters in sedition in Jerusalem, according to Josephus, ;in May 20,000 slain in Cesarea Syria 'filled with slaughter by the battles between the Jews and the Syrians Jerusalem be. sieged by Csestius -Gallus the Christians leave Jerusalem and go to Pella in Cselosyria.

In A. D. 67, Vespasian invades Judea with an army of 60,000 men, and carries fire, [and sword wherever he goes immense numbers of the Jews are slain in the various sieges he makes 11,600 Samaritans are slain by his order on Mount Gerizim ; Joppa taken and .destroyed Tarichsea taken, and nearly 40,000 persons slain.

A. D. 68, the inhabitants of Jerusalem divide into two different parties, and 'murder one another by thousands.

In A.D. 69, Vespasian is made emperor, and his son, Titus, has the command of the Roman army.

In A. D. 70, Titus is sent, with a great army, to besiege Jerusalem The Jewish Temple burnt; Matt. 24 Jerusalem taken, September 7, and destroyed by Titus. Josephus reckons that not less than 1,100,000 perished in this siege, by fire, sword, misery and famine. If to this number be added all that were killed in the several battles fought out of Jerusalem, and in the taking of the several towns which were stormed, it will be found that the Jews lost 1,357,660 men; Matt. 24: 51. The number carried away as prisoners or captives in war, amounted to 97,000; Matt. 25: 46; Luke 22: 37; 2 Peter 3: 10.

In this great destruction of the Jews in Jerusalem, not a Christian lost his life. The Savior had forewarned them to flee:

the wise took oil in their vessels, with their lamps, and fled from Jerusalem; but the foolish took no oil; Mark 13: 30; Luke 21: 21, 22, 28, 31, 32, 33.

The prophecies in the Holy Books, probably, are all fulfilled in the destruction of the wicked Idol government, 'and establishing the kingdom of Jesus Christ, A. D. 70.

It is said that the mother of Jesus lived with St. John until her death, and that she died at Philadelphia, in Asia Minor.

It is probable that John was well acquainted with the seven churches, to whom he was 'directed to write, having often made them a visit, and preached to them the gospel of the kingdom.

The reader is referred, in this connection, to Mat. 24: 3- "And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto "him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?"  "And he answered, and said unto them, 14, This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come. 15-When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place, 25, Behold I have told you before ; 34, Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Mat. 25:. 31. When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, &c., 32, before him shall be gathered all nations, &c. 34 Then shall the King say tp those on his right hand, Come,, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared {or you from the foundation, of world,"