Revelation 14:9-13 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The third angel, &c.— Not only the capital city, not only the principal agents and promoters of idolatry shall be destroyed; the commission of the third angel proceeds farther, and extends to all the subjects of the beast whom he consigns over to everlasting punishment. If any man worship the beast, and his image, and receive his mark, &c. (Revelation 14:9.) if any man embrace and profess the religion of the beast, or, what is the same, the religion of the Pope, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, or rather, of the poisonous wine of God, Revelation 14:10. His punishment shall correspond with his crime. As he drank of the poisonous wine of Babylon, (Revelation 14:8.) so he shall be made to taste of the poisonous wine of God, which is poured out without mixture, or, according to the Greek, (του κεκερασμενου ακρτου,) which is mixt unmixt,—the poisonous ingredients being stronger, when mixt with mere or unmixt wine, in the cup of his indignation, &c. By this third angel following the others with a loud voice, we may understand principally Martin Luther and his fellow-reformers, who, with a loud voice, protested against all the errors of the church of Rome, and declared them to be destructive of salvation to all who still obstinately continue in the practice and profession of them. This would be a time of great trial;—Here is the patience of the saints, &c. Revelation 14:12. And it is very well known, that it was a time of great trial and persecution; the reformation was not introduced and established without much bloodshed; there were many martyrs in every country. But they were comforted with a solemn declaration from heaven, "Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth, (Revelation 14:13.) if they die in the faith and obedience of Christ, and more especially if they die martyrs for his sake;—Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for immediately upon their deaths, they enter into rest,—and their works do follow them; they enjoy now some recompence, and, in due time, at the day of judgment, they shalt receive the full reward of their good works." It is most probable that St. John, or rather the Holy Spirit by St. John, alludes to a passage in the Old Testament, where the same divine Spirit has made the like declaration, Isaiah 57:1-2. But the greatest difficulty of all is to account for the words from henceforth; for why should the blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord, be restrained to this time, and commence from this period rather than any other, when they are at all times and at all periods equally blessed, and not more since this time than before? The difficulty in a great measure ceases, if we apply this prophesy to the Reformation. For from that time, though the blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord has not been enlarged, yet it has been much better understood, more clearly written and promulgated than before; and the contrary doctrine of purgatory has been exploded and banished from the belief of all reasonable men. This truth was, moreover, one of the leading principles of the Reformation. What first provoked Luther's spirit, was the scandalous sale of indulgences: and the doctrine of indulgences having a close connection with the doctrine of purgatory, the refutation of the one naturally led him to the refutation of the other; and his first work of reformation was his ninety five Theses or Positions against indulgences, purgatory, and the dependent doctrines. So that he may be said literally to have fulfilled the command from heaven, of writing, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth: and from that time to the present, this truth has been so clearly asserted, and so solidly established, that it is likely to prevail for ever. The word rendered from henceforth, may signify immediately: that is, from the time of their death, or immediately after their dissolution: and it is observable, thatthe apostle adds, their works follow with them, (μετ αυτων), and not that they should come many thousand years after them; than which there cannot be a more strong refutation of the doctrine of purgatory. But, be this as it may, we may conceive that the word rendered from henceforth, relates not so much to the blessedness of the dead, which is always the same; as to the writing and promulgating of the doctrine, in opposition to purgatory, by Luther and the Protestant reformers.