6. And the seven angels, which had the seven trumpets, prepared
themselves to sound.

V. 6.--The "seven angels now prepare themselves to sound." The first
alarm, of course, will put an end to the "silence." It should be noted
that while each seal, when broken, disclosed so much of the roll of the
book as was concealed by it; the seventh leaves no part unrevealed. The
whole contents are laid open. It is otherwise with the trumpets. The
reverberations of one may not have ceased when the next begins to sound.
Thus, several may be partly cotemporary. Again, it may be questioned
whether mankind are to be considered in civil or ecclesiastical
organization as the formal object of the judgments indicated by the
trumpets. Some expositors view the one, and some the other, as the
object, and the contention has been sharp among them. We humbly suggest
that neither is the formal object without the other, simply because the
_same individuals_ constitute the complex _moral person_. The
correctness of this view is largely illustrated and abundantly confirmed
in the subsequent part of the Apocalypse. Provinces, nations, empires,
are no farther worthy of notice in prophecy than as they affect the
destiny of the church and illustrate the immutable principles of the
moral government of God. He is known by the judgments which he
executeth, and nations must be taught that "the heavens do rule." (Dan.
iv. 26.) Although the church and the state are, by divine institution,
distinct, not united; they are nevertheless co-ordinate, and always
exert a reciprocal influence for good or for evil. It has been the
policy of Satan to confound this distinction; and alas! with too much
success in the apprehension of many. There are not wanting divines who
boldly assert, that even among the Jews, under the Old Testament,--"the