connected with the utterance of His voice, and what followed on it, were not yet revealed. A voice from heaven sealed them up: for though the course of events went on, and was described, yet were there really principles in this, of such a character and weight in the eyes of Him who could bring in the name of Him that liveth for ever and ever, that it proved that delay should be no longer. And these things were to precede the accomplishing of the mystery of God, which should be when the seventh. angel was about to sound. In this way the little open book is very simple. It is not the mystery of iniquity, brought all out in its character, but it is the historic course of events—a picture of that scene, by itself, in which the mystery of iniquity, and all its important principles, and God’s acting on them are developed, in order to the filling up of that which is finished at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. It is thus a step lower in its nature than the great sealed book. That was held by Him that sat on the throne; and it was given to the Lamb, who alone could open it. It belonged to him by a title none else at all had : but this is in the hand of the angel, and it is given to the prophet. It was part of the course of progressive historic events. Its allusions, however,
