A Brief Commentary on the Apocalypse

A Brief Commentary on the Apocalypse is written by Sylvester Bliss, and this copy is the second edition from Boston. The contents list a preface, Elements of Prophetic Interpretation, and an Exposition of the Apocalypse. The preface says the Apocalypse should be regarded as a peculiarly interesting portion of scripture, a blessing being promised those who read, hear, and keep the things which are written therein.

The preface adds that the Apocalypse has been subjected to so many contradictory interpretations that any attempt to comprehend its meaning is often regarded with distrust. Numbered definitions cover figures of speech: a hyperbole is an exaggeration, and irony is the utterance of pointed remarks, contrary to the actual thoughts of the speaker or writer. A section headed The Wicked Raised, and Satan Loosed quotes the words that Satan will be loosed out of his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog.