The Revelation Explained An Exposition, Text by Text, of the Apocalypse of St. John — Edition Insights

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Authors: Smith, F. G. (Frederick George), 1880-1947 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2004 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible. Revelation -- Criticism, interpretation, etc. Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 126,461

Reading time 550 min

Text sections 19

This digital edition of The Revelation Explained An Exposition, Text by Text, of the Apocalypse of St. John — Edition Insights is described by source-level measurements including 126,461 words, 9 hr 10 min estimated reading time, and 19 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 24.0 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible. Revelation -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #13229

An exposition of Revelation that interprets its prophecies as fulfilled in history, tracing the rise of the Papacy, Islam, and Protestantism within the Roman Empire's legacy.

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Introduction, verses 1-11 Vision of Christ, verses 12-20

Message to Ephesus, verses 1-7 Message to Smyrna, verses 8-11 Message to Pergamus, verses 12-17 Message to Thyatira, verses 18-29

Message to Sardis, verses 1-6 Message to Philadelphia, verses 7-13 Message to Laodicea, verses 14-22

Vision of God's Throne

The Book with Seven Seals

First Seal Opened, verses 1, 2 Second Seal Opened, verses 3, 4 Third Seal Opened, verses 5, 6 Fourth Seal Opened, verses 7, 8 Fifth Seal Opened, verses 9-11 Sixth Seal Opened, verses 12-17

God's Servants Sealed, verses 1-8 The White-Robed Company, verses 9-17

Seventh Seal Opened, verses 1-5 First Trumpet Sounded, verses 6, 7 Second Trumpet Sounded, verses 8, 9 Third Trumpet Sounded, verses 10, 11 Fourth Trumpet Sounded, verses 12, 13

Fifth Trumpet Sounded, verses 1-12 Sixth Trumpet Sounded, verses 13-21

Temple and Holy City, verses 1, 2 The Two Witnesses, verses 3-6 The Witnesses Slain, verses 7-10 The Witnesses Resurrected, verses 11-14 Seventh Trumpet Sounded, verses 15-19

Woman and Man-Child, verses 1-6 Michael and the Dragon, verses 7-12 The Woman's Flight, verses 13-17

The Leopard Beast, verses 1-9 "The Faith of the Saints," verse 10 The Two-Horned Beast, verses 11-18

The 144,000 on Mount Sion, verses 1-5 The Three Angels, verses 6-11 "The Patience of the Saints," verses 12, 13 Harvest of the World, verses 14-20

The First Vial, verses 1, 2 The Second Vial, verse 3 The Third Vial, verses 4-7 The Fourth Vial, verses 8, 9 The Fifth Vial, verses 10, 11 The Sixth Vial, verses 12-16 The Seventh Vial, verses 17-21

"Babylon the Great," verses 1-6 Beast and Ten Kingdoms, verses 7-18

Marriage of the Lamb, verses 1-10 Coming of Christ, verses 11-21

The Dragon Bound, verses 1-6 The Dragon Released, verses 7-10 The Judgment Scene, verses 11-15

New Heaven and Earth, verses 1-8 The Heavenly Jerusalem, verses 9-27

River and Tree of Life, verses 1-5 Christ's Coming and Eternity, verses 6-21

Nature of Symbolic Language.

Before proceeding with the interpretation of this wonderful book, it will be necessary for us to pause and make inquiry concerning the nature of the language employed in its prophecies and concerning the mode of its interpretation. It will be seen at a glance that it is wholly unlike the common language of life; and it will be useless for us to undertake to ascertain its signification unless we understand perfectly the principles upon which it is founded.

The question may be asked, "Is the language intelligible at all?" Considering the variety of interpretations placed upon it by expositors and the opinions generally held respecting it, we might conclude that it is not. The majority of the people look upon these prophecies as "a mass of unintelligible enigmas," and are ready to tell the student of Revelation that this book "either finds or leaves a man mad." But are we to look upon its language as being applied at a venture, without any definite rule, capable of every variety of meaning, so that we can never be quite _sure_ that we have its correct interpretation?

Commentators generally unite in attaching a definite meaning to certain symbols, and they tell us that these can not be applied otherwise without violating their nature. They may not give us their reasons for thus applying them (in fact, they generally do not), yet it is evidently assumed that such reasons do exist. Now, if reasons actually exist why a definite signification must be applied to the symbol in the one case, why do they not exist in another case, and in all cases? If any law exists in the case at all, it is a uniform one, for a law that does not possess uniformity is no law; otherwise, it would be an unintelligible revelation, and the only possible thing left for us to do would be to attempt to solve it like a riddle--guess it out. It would be as if the writer were to use words with every variety of meaning peculiarly his own attached, without informing the reader what signification to give them in a given instance. No man has a right thus to abuse written or spoken language; and we may take it for granted that the God of heaven would not make such an indiscriminate use of symbolical language when making a revelation to men. There is no other book the wide world around in which language is as carefully employed as in the Bible; and we can rest assured that when God gave this Revelation to Jesus Christ "to _show_ unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass," he made choice of proper symbols whose meaning can be definitely evolved, provided we can but ascertain the great underlying principles upon which their original selection was based.

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F. G. Smith's The Revelation Explained approaches the Apocalypse as a prophetic outline of church and political history from the first century onward. The preface declares that the book was written for 'the special benefit of the people of God' and that Smith consulted general and ecclesiastical histories, encyclopedias, and commentaries. He explicitly chose to condense the subject matter, omitting 'much valuable material' to keep the work accessible. The exposition proceeds 'text by text,' linking each vision to specific historical events, institutions, or figures.

Historical Method and Source Use

Smith states that he 'gleaned historical information from all the general and ecclesiastical histories, encyclopedias, etc., within my reach,' yet he regrets not having access to more. He deliberately omitted 'many lines of prophetic truth penned by others of the sacred writers' that relate to the same events as the Revelation's symbols. This suggests a focused, selective approach: Smith prioritizes the Apocalypse's own imagery over cross-referencing other biblical prophecies. His method is to match each symbol to a concrete historical counterpart, drawing on secular and church history rather than on typological or literary analysis.

The Beast as an Ecclesiastical Power

In the excerpt, Smith distinguishes the beast's 'character as an ecclesiastical beast' from a mere political power. He argues that 'no one would suppose that a mere political power would set itself up as an object to be worshiped, exalting itself above the God of heaven, and then single out and slaughter the saints for not complying therewith.' The beast, he writes, 'succeeded to the dominion held by the dragon'—the old Roman Empire—and adopted 'rites and ceremonies purely Pagan in origin.' He lists parallels: the title Pontifex Maximus, scapulars, medals, canonization, incense, holy water, and religious orders. The comparison is systematic and detailed, drawing on religious practice rather than political structure.

Pagan Continuity in Christian Garb

Smith contends that the beast is 'the same beast in reality, being clothed, in its later form, in a Christian garb, instead of the worn-out garments of infidelity or heathenism.' He illustrates this transfer with a business analogy: 'an old, established firm retiring and giving its standing and credit and well-earned reputation to a new partnership.' The excerpt then enumerates seven specific pagan practices perpetuated in Roman Catholicism, from the Pontifex Maximus title to 'religious orders of monks and nuns,' noting that 'one who has read of the vestal virgins of old will recognize at once where monkery originated.' This argument depends on historical continuity rather than on textual exegesis alone.

Readers should note that Smith's exposition is driven by a conviction that prophecy is history written in advance. He treats the Revelation as a coded record of events already fulfilled by his time, particularly the rise and corruption of ecclesiastical institutions. The excerpts show a work that is as much a historical polemic as a biblical commentary, relying on external sources to identify the referents of John's symbols. Those approaching the book will benefit from familiarity with church history and the Reformation-era critiques of the Papacy.

Reading through The Revelation Explained, I kept thinking about how prophecy felt like a patient, unfolding pattern — one thing quietly leading to another. That same unhurried threading came to mind while revisiting Studies in the Epistle of James — A Closer Reading, where wisdom isn’t thunderous, just steady. Both felt like watching old stones hold their place, each bearing the weight of centuries.