Note ver. 15 — Footnotes.
Reading edition
15 And 601out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a 602rod of iron: and 603he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword. See Notes on ch. i. 16. In that place the sword seems to be an emblem of his words or doctrines, as penetrating the hearts of men; here it is the emblem of a work of destruction wrought on his foes. ¶ That with it he should smite the nations. The nations that were opposed to him; to wit, those especially who were represented by the beast and the false prophet, ver. 18‒20. ¶ And he shall rule them with a rod of iron. See Notes on ch. ii. 27; xii. 5. ¶ And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. This language is probably derived from Is. lxiii. 1‒4. See it explained in the Notes on that place, and on ch. xiv. 19, 20. It means here that his enemies would be certainly crushed before him—as grapes are crushed under the feet of him that treads in the wine-vat.