And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven
Which was a song of praise on account of the victory obtained by
Michael and his angels over the dragon and his, or for the
overthrow and downfall of Paganism in the Roman empire; for by
"heaven" is meant the empire, now become Christian, or the
Christian church state in it; and the "loud voice" heard in it by
John shows that there was a great number in it, who rejoiced on
this occasion, and that they were full of affection and fervency,
and therefore expressed themselves in such manner, and in form
following:
now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and
the power of his Christ;
"salvation" was come when Christ obtained it by his sufferings
and death, and comes to particular persons in the effectual
calling, and it will only be fully come when it is perfectly
enjoyed in heaven: but here it designs a deliverance from Satan,
as the god of this world, who was now dethroned, and cast down
from his power, authority, and influence in the empire; and from
Pagan idolatry and superstition, and from the ten days of
tribulation, the cruel and bloody persecutions under the Heathen
emperors; and denotes that safety and security, comfort, peace,
and happiness, the churches enjoyed under the government of a
Christian emperor: and now was come "strength"; not the strength
of Christ personal, displayed in the redemption of his people;
but rather of Christ mystical, of his church and interest, which
had been very weak and low, and under oppression and persecution,
but was now exalted, and in a flourishing condition, and was
become strong and mighty; or it may design the strength and power
of Christ, shown in destroying his enemies, in casting the dragon
out of heaven down to the earth, and in bringing to confusion and
destruction the Heathen emperors, princes, and others, who fled
to the rocks and mountains for fear of him, and because of his
great wrath: also now came "the kingdom of our God", the Gospel
of the kingdom was preached everywhere and Gospel churches were
set up in all parts of the empire, both which are sometimes
signified by the kingdom of God; here was now an illustrious
appearance of the kingdom of God in the world, such as had never
been before; and which was a pledge and presage of the greatness
of the kingdom, or of that everlasting kingdom which will be set
up hereafter, when all other kingdoms will be at an end: to which
is added "the power of his Christ"; or his authority as Lord and
Christ, which took place at his resurrection, ascension, and
session at the right hand of God, and which will more fully
appear at the last day, when he shall come in glory, and exercise
his authority in judging the quick and dead, of which there was
some resemblance at this time, in dethroning Satan, destroying
Paganism, and putting an end to the power of the Heathen emperors
and empire; and which is expressed in such language as the day of
judgment is, ( Revelation
6:12-17 ) ; for to the opening of the sixth seal does this
passage belong: a further account is given of the matter of this
song, and the reason of it:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down;
hence it appears that this is not a song of the angels in heaven,
since the saints are never called their brethren, nor the angels
theirs, but their fellow servants; rather it may be thought to be
the song of the saints in heaven, acknowledging those on earth to
be their brethren, as they are, for there is but one family in
heaven and in earth, and the saints on earth are called the of
the souls under the altar, ( Revelation
6:9 Revelation
6:11 ) ; but as this refers to the state of the church in
Constantine's time, it must be the song of the saints in that
state, who call the martyrs, that had been slain under the former
persecutions, their brethren; for that they are the persons meant
is clear from the following verse, whom Satan is an accuser of,
for he is designed here; the word rendered "devil" signifies an
accuser, and a false one, and is so translated ( Titus 2:3 ) ; this is a
name frequently given to Satan by the Jews, and have adopted into
their language the very Greek word F17 that is here used; and
often say of him that he accuses Israel, and particularly that he
accuses Israel above, that is, in heaven; and that he stands and
(dymt grjqm) F18,
"continually accuses them", the very phrase used in the next
clause: when Israel came out of Egypt, they say F19 the
angel Samael (the devil) stood and accused them; the first day of
the month Tisri, according to them F20, is appointed a day for
blowing of trumpets, to confound Satan, who comes to accuse at
that time; so they say F21 that Satan stood and accused
Abraham, and others; and indeed he was an accuser from the
beginning, both of God to men, and of men to God; we have
instances in Job and Joshua the high priest, ( Job
1:8-11 ) ( Zechariah
3:1 ) ; but here it refers to the accusations brought against
the Christians in the primitive times, during the ten
persecutions, which were very horrid ones indeed; as that they
had their private suppers, at which they ate their own infants,
and their nightly meetings, for the gratifying of their lusts, in
which they committed adultery, incest, and all manner of
uncleanness; if ever a fire happened in a city, they were charged
with it; and whenever there were any famine, or pestilence, or
wars, or any public calamity, they were accused as the cause and
occasion of it; as appears from the apologies for them written by
Justin, Tertullian, Cyprian, Minutius Felix so that Satan at this
time was remarkably the accuser of the brethren; but now this
father of lies was cast down, he was cast out of heaven, and
deprived of that power and authority he had in the empire, and
lost his influence over men, and could not spread his lies, and
get his false charges and accusations credited and received as
before; he was not indeed wholly destroyed, nor even shut up in
the bottomless pit, but he was cast down to the earth; he was in
a low condition, his power was greatly diminished, and he was
conquered by Christ, and cast down and bruised under the feet of
the saints,
which accused them before our God day and
night;
so the evil spirit in Ahab's time, and Satan in Job's time, are
said to stand before the Lord: and this shows the malice, and
also the insolence of the devil, that he should stand and accuse
the saints before God, who he knew was their God, and was on
their side, and therefore his accusations could be of no avail;
and though Christ appears in the presence of God for them, and is
their advocate with the Father, yet he is constant and
indefatigable in going about, and picking up charges against
them, and carrying them to God.