Then comes the vintage which is pure wrath, not discriminating judgment. All the grapes of that which had the form of His people upon earth, are trampled in the wine-press of God’s wrath. This was done “without the city,” not yet mentioned since chap. xi; and there, notice, it was “men” were slain;—here, it is “blood came out:” the destruction is dreadful.[1]
- ↑ There may be an application of what passes in this chapter to the crisis; and, in such case, many dates would be ascertained, but the application is less particular of part. Thus the song, being before the throne of God, must be taken only as the commencing association of heavenly with earthly things, and the recognition of the earthly by the heavenly powers. The Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, would recognise the return of the Jews into suffering, associated with the Lamb amongst them in grace, that is, of a remnant among them. The everlasting Gospel would then be strictly that mentioned in Matthew, “the Gospel of the kingdom,” i.e. that Christ was just coming in his kingdom, which I have no doubt will so go out in all nations before the end. The fall of Babylon would precede the harvest of the earth, and, looked at as the literal Babylon, might be supposed to be the “tidings of the north and east,” in part, which trouble the wilful king, and cause him to return to Jerusalem. Compare Isa. xxi, xxii; and then the last time of trouble would be to the Jewish people such as never was, and Michael would stand up for them, and the sanctuary at length be cleansed. In this case, I am inclined to think, the vine of the earth would be rather the Jewish part of profession, as in Isa. lxv. lxvi. Such judgment is certain: but there will be also the apostasy to be destroyed; but that is rather in war against the royalty of Christ then, and has assumed a
