John Wesley

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God.

“And I saw another (a good) angel ascending from the east - The plagues begin in the east; so does the sealing.”

And I heard the number of those who were sealed, 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel:

“Of the children of Israel - To these will afterwards be joined a multitude out of all nations.”

From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

“Judah is mentioned first, in respect of the kingdom, and of the Messiah sprung therefrom.”

from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, and from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

“It is farther observable of Daniel, that it was very early reduced to a single family; which family itself seems to have been cut off in war, before the time of Ezra; for in the Chronicles, where the posterity of the patriarchs is recited, Dan.”

saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

“Now he is upon opening the last seal, and the seven angels are going to receive seven trumpets, in order to make the kingdoms of the world subject to God.”

Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?”

“And one of the elders - What stands, verses 13-17, ver. 13-17 might have immediately followed the tenth verse; but that the praise of the angels, which was at the same time with that of the "great multitude," came in between.”

“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in…

“Thou knowest - That is, I know not; but thou dost. These are they - Not martyrs; for these are not such a multitude as no man can number.”

For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle…

“Therefore - Because they came out of great affliction, and have washed their robes in his blood. Are they before the throne - It seems, even nearer than the angels.”

When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven - Such a silence is mentioned but in this one place. It was uncommon, and highly observable: for praise is sounding in heaven day and night.”

And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.

“The Israelites, in particular, used them, both in the worship of God and in war; therewith openly praising the power of God before, after, and in, the battle, Josh.”

Then another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar.

“And much incense was given-Incense generally signifies prayer: here it signifies the longing desires of the angels, that the holy counsel of God might be fulfilled.”

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, and rumblings, and flashes of…

“And there were thunderings, and lightnings, and voices, and an earthquake - These, especially when attended with fire, are emblems of God's dreadful judgments, which are immediately to follow.”

Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth.

“And the first sounded - And every angel continued to sound, till all which his trumpet brought was fulfilled and till the next began. There are intervals between the three woes, but not between the four first trumpets.”

Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,

“The fire may mean the fire of war, and the rage of those savage nations. And the third part of the sea became blood - This need not imply, that just a third part of the Roman was slain; but it is certain an inconceivable…”

Then the third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven and landed on a third of the rivers and on the springs…

“And thus Arianism was the inlet to all heresies and calamities, and at length to Mahometanism itself.”

The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood oil, and many people died from the bitter waters.

“And the name of the star is called Wormwood - The unparalleled bitterness both of Arius himself and of his followers show the exact propriety of his title.”

Then the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth, and it was given the key to the pit of the…

“This star belongs to the invisible world. The third woe is occasioned by the dragon cast out of heaven; the second takes place at the loosing of the four angels who were bound in the Euphrates.”

The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by…

“And there arose a smoke out of the pit - The locusts, who afterwards rise out of it, seem to be, as we shall afterwards see, the Persians; agreeable to which, this smoke is their detestable idolatrous doctrine, and false zeal for it, which now…”

And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads, and faces like the faces of men.

“The Persians excelled in horsemanship. And on their heads are as it were crowns - Turbans. And their faces are as the faces of men - Friendly and agreeable.”

They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months.

“And they have tails like scorpions - That is, each tail is like a scorpion, not like the tail of a scorpion. To hurt the unsealed men five months - Five prophetic months; that is, seventy-nine common years So long did these calamities last.”

They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon.

“And they have over them a king - One by whom they are peculiarly directed and governed. His name is Abaddon - Both this and Apollyon signify a destroyer. By this he is distinguished from the dragon, whose proper name is Satan.”

Then the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God

“And the sixth angel sounded - Under this angel goes forth the second woe. And I heard a voice from the four corners of the golden altar - This golden altar is the heavenly pattern of the Levitical altar of incense.”

And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million; I heard their number.

“And the number of the horsemen was two hundred millions - Not that so many were ever brought into the field at once, but (if we understand the expression literally) in the course of "the hour, and day, and month, and year."”

For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm.

“For the power of these horses is in their mouths, and in their tails - Their riders fight retreating as well as advancing: so that their rear is as terrible as their front.”

Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands.

“That they should not worship devils - The invocation of departed saints, whether true, or false, or doubtful, or forged, crept early into the Christian church, and was carried farther and farther; and who knows how many who are invoked as saints are among evil…”