“And when the thousand years are completed, 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, to gather them to
battle: the number of whom is like the sand of the sea. And they
ascended on the breadth of the earth, and encompassed the camp of
the saints, and the beloved city: and fire descended from God out
of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them,
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where both the wild
beast and the false prophet are, and will be tormented day and
night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him
who sat on it; from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,
and a place was not for them. And I saw the dead, the small and
the great, standing before God; and the books were opened: and
another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged from the things written in the books, according to
their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it; and death and the
pit gave up the dead in them: and they were judged every one
according to their works. And death and the pit were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And
whoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into
the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:7-15.
Verses 11-15 contain the record of the symbolization John saw, of what was
to transpire at the end of the thousand years; while verses 7-10 appear to
be explanatory of events which would then be fulfilled. This explanation,
previous to the exhibition of the symbolization, is appropriate in the
connection, and makes more forcible the fact that “the rest of the dead
lived not again until the thousand years were finished.”
As the rest of the dead live not till the end of the thousand years, they
come forth at “the resurrection of damnation,” at the end of a thousand
years of the reign of the saints on the earth, and at the epoch when Satan
was to be loosed from his prison. As all who had part in the first
resurrection were to be exempted from the power of the second death, the
nations who are then deceived by Satan, must be the nations composing the
rest of the dead, who live again at that epoch.
Their number “as the sand of the sea,” and their coming from “the four
quarters of the earth,” show that they are no obscure people, living
unknown to the saints; and their existence can only be accounted for by
the event of a resurrection of the wicked.
Their names, “Gog and Magog,”—those applied to the ancient enemies of
Israel, (Ezek. 38:38),—are appropriate titles to designate the subjects of
the second resurrection.
They encompass the camp of the saints, and the beloved city—showing that
the city descends at the commencement of the thousand years—but there is
no battle: before they are permitted to harm the saints, fire from heaven
devours them; and the devil that thought to lead them against the holy
city, is cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet
were cast at the commencement of the millennium.
In connection with the resurrection of the wicked, is their judgment—not
following necessarily in the precise order of the record. The “small and
great” who stand before God, are not small and large persons, but those
from all stations and ranks in society. The king and the beggar equally
receive according to their deserts: They are the bond and the free, the
high and the low, the rich and the poor, including those who fought
against the Lamb, and were overcome by Him, 19:18.
The open books symbolize the record of their evil deeds, for which they
are to be judged. And the “book of Life” is opened to symbolize that the
names of those who are judged are not there recorded, and that
consequently they are justly condemned. To “him that overcometh,” the
Saviour promised “I will not blot his name out of this book of life,” 3:3.
The sea, death, and hell giving up their dead, indicates that all of the
“rest of the dead” are here resurrected, and that none are left out from
among whom these are raised, as these were, from whom came forth the
subjects of the first resurrection.
The casting of death and hell into the lake of fire, symbolizes the
casting in of those who were within their domains; and “the lake of fire,”
symbolizes the place into which—the impenitent are consigned—which is the
“second death.”
The New Creation.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and
the first earth were passed away; and the sea was no more. And I
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven, from
God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.” Rev. 21:1, 2.
The new heaven and new earth are symbols of the new order of things. The
old heavens and earth having been dissolved, their elements melting with
fervent heat (2 Pet. 3:12), the “new heavens and the new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness,” for which Peter looked, succeed to their place.
So much more resplendent are these than the former, that those “shall not
be remembered, nor come into mind,” _i.e._, to be desired, Isa. 65:17.
This is the eternal state in which we are commanded to be “glad and
rejoice forever,” when God shall “create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her
people a joy.” Then “the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her,
nor the voice of crying.” There “the elect shall long enjoy the work of
their hands;” for “as the days of a tree, are the days of my people,”
saith the Lord; who has also declared that, “as the new heavens and the
new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, so shall your seed
and your name remain,” Isa. 66:22.
The sea is now “no more,” in the same sense that the first heavens and
earth are passed away—all having disappeared in the conflagration, and
given place to the “restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of
all the holy prophets,” Acts 3:21. Whether the new creation will comprise
both sea and dry land, as was first created (Gen. 1:10), is not here
decided; but there is no reason to suppose that this characteristic of the
original creation will be forever obliterated.
The new Jerusalem descends, adorned as a bride for her husband. She is
shown in the 19th chapter to be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white”—a
symbol of “the righteousness of the saints.” As the corrupt Roman
hierarchy was symbolized by an adulterous woman (17:3), and also by the
corrupt city of Babylon (18:2), so symbols of an opposite character—a
chaste bride, and the new Jerusalem—are chosen representatives of the
church triumphant, whose Maker is her husband.
Mr. Lord very justly remarks: “The descent of the city is to take place at
the commencement of the millennium, manifestly from the representation
that the marriage of the Lamb was come, and that his wife had prepared
herself, immediately after the destruction of great Babylon, (19:7, 8);
from the exhibition of the risen and glorified saints, as seated on
thrones, and reigning with Christ during the thousand years; and from the
representation of the beloved city as on earth at the revolt of Gog and
Magog, after the close of the thousand years.”—“_Ex. Apoc._” p. 529.
“Jerusalem, my happy home,
O how I long for thee;
When shall my sorrows have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?
“When shall these eyes thy heaven-built walls
And pearly gates behold!
Thy bulwarks with salvation strong,
And streets of shining gold?
“O when, thou city of my God,
Shall I thy courts ascend,
Where congregations ne’er break up,
And Sabbaths have no end?”
The Tabernacle of God with Men.
“And I heard a loud voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and
they will be his people, and God himself will be with them, even
their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying out, nor
will there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away. And he who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And he said, Write, for these words are faithful and true.
And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give to him, who thirsteth, from the
fountain of the water of life freely. He, who overcometh, will
inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he will be my
son. But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and
murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all
liars, will have their part in the lake burning with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death.” Rev. 21:3-8.
The utterances of the “great voice out of heaven” are not what John saw,
but are what he heard; and are therefore to be interpreted, not by the
laws of symbols, but by those of tropes and literal language.
The “tabernacle of God with men” is explained in the same connection to be
his “dwelling with them.”
“When our Saviour was incarnate, and vouchsafed to dwell amongst the
children of men, the same phrase is used by this same author, _Eskeenoose_
(John 1:14), ‘The Word was made flesh, and tabernacled amongst us: and we
beheld his glory,’ etc. We read it, he dwelt amongst us: but rendered more
closely, it is, he set his tabernacle amongst us. And that which the
Hebrews call the _Shekinah_, or divine presence (Maimon, Mor. Nev. par. 1,
chap. 25), comes from a word of the like signification, and found with the
Greek word here used. Therefore there will be a _Shekinah_ in that kingdom
of Christ.”—_Tho. Burnett._
When Israel first entered the wilderness, God entered into a _covenant_
with them (Ex. 19:3-8), in consequence of which he said to Moses, “Let
them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them,” (Ex. 25:8)—the
pattern of which was shown Moses in the mount; and when completed “the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Ex. 40:34), and there “the Lord
talked with Moses,” Ex. 33:9. Thus did God dwell among them while they
were in a probationary state; but he indicated a more intimate connection
with them, by promising, if they were obedient to his statutes in all
things, that “I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not
abhor you. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall
be my people,” Lev. 26:11, 12. This promise was not fulfilled to the Jews,
because of their sins; but Paul quotes it (2 Cor. 6:16), and applies it as
a promise still to be made good to the church of Christ. Thus, the “Word”
that “was God,” who was made flesh and tabernacled among us at his
incarnation, is again to come and dwell with us in his human tabernacle,
as at his first advent. Then will God enter into a new covenant with his
people, as he has said: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of
Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in
the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of
Egypt, which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them,
saith the Lord; but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in
their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God,
and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall
all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more,” Jer. 31:31-34.
As the saints, before the resurrection of “the rest of the dead,” “reign
with Christ 1000 years,” (20:4); it follows that during that period the
tabernacle of God is with men, when he dwells among them, which is an
additional evidence that “the restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) is at
the commencement of the millennium.
This is a tearless state—all tears being then wiped from every eye. Isaiah
predicted, when “He will swallow up death in victory,” that “the Lord God
will wipe away tears from off all faces: and the rebuke of his people
shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for
him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we
will be glad and rejoice in his salvation,” Isa. 25:8, 9. The commencement
of the tearless state is thus placed by Isaiah at the resurrection, and at
the appearance of Christ; which is confirmed by Paul, in his inspired
commentary on the same, who affirms that at the last trump, “when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory,” 1 Cor. 15:54. This state was also
promised to the entire company “which came out of great tribulation, and
have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night
in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the
throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of
waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,” Rev. 7:14-17.
There shall then “be no more death”—for that “last enemy shall be
destroyed” (1 Cor. 15:26), and there shall be nothing to “hurt nor
destroy, in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord.” Death will have been
swallowed up in victory, (Isa. 25:8)—the redeemed having been ransomed
“from the power of the grave,” Hos. 13:14. “Neither can they die any more:
for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the
children of the resurrection,” Luke 20:36.
After the destruction of death, there shall be “neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” This was to be when “the
ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away,” Isa. 35:10. And one of these songs
was to be: “Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out
of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation; and hast made us unto
our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth,” Rev. 5:9,10.
Then, everything which distinguishes the present world from that, will
have passed away; for all things will be created anew. These words,
uttered by Him who is the “Alpha and Omega,” are no rhetorical flourishes,
nor mere figures of speech, but contain the exact and literal truth, and
are not to be set aside as unmeaning figures. For He who sat upon the
throne has declared: “These words are true and faithful.” Faithful is He
who hath promised, and he will surely make good his words—bestowing on the
righteous the inheritance of all things; and on the wicked, their fearful
doom.
The New Jerusalem.
“And there came to me one of the seven angels, who had the seven
bowls full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying,
Come, I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he
carried me away in spirit to a vast and high mountain, and shewed
me the holy city Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone,
like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; having a wall vast and
high, and having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and
names written on the gates, which are the names of the twelve
tribes of the sons of Israel. On the east, three gates; on the
north, three gates; on the south, three gates; and on the west,
three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and
on them, the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And
he, who talked with me, had a golden measuring-reed to measure the
city, and its gates, and its wall. And the city lieth square, and
the length is as much as the breadth: and he measured the city
with the measuring-reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length, and
the breadth, and the height of it are equal. And he measured its
wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of
a man, that is, of the angel. And the structure of its wall was
jasper: and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. And the
foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind
of precious stone. The first foundation was a jasper; the second,
a sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the
fifth, a sardonyx; the sixth, a sardius; the seventh, a
chrysolite; the eighth, a beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a
chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was
of one pearl; and the wide street of the city was pure gold, like
transparent glass.” Rev. 21:9-21.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb. In the midst of
its wide street, and on each side of the river, was the tree of
life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit monthly,
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there will be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the
Lamb will be in it; and his servants will serve him: and they will
see his face; and his name will be on their foreheads. And there
will be no night there; and they have no need of the light of a
lamp, nor of the light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them
light: and they will reign forever and ever.” Rev. 22:1-5.
Objects of great interest, of which only a passing glance was permitted in
previous visions, are again and again presented, until their relative
glory is sufficiently manifested. Thus the new earth was considered worthy
of being the subject of a special vision; and now the Bride, the Lamb’s
wife, although before referred to, is again made the subject of a special
vision, under the symbol of a city, explained to be the bride.
The descent of the city, to harmonize with corresponding scriptures, has
been shown to be at the commencement of the millennium, when those who are
called to the marriage supper of the Lamb descend from the clouds of
heaven, to receive “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you ... ready to be revealed in
the last time,” 1 Pet. 4:5.
“The glory of the Lord,” which is the light of the city, is explained to
be “the Lamb” (21:23), which “is the light thereof.” “In him was life, and
the life was the light of men.” “That was the true light which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world,” John 1:4, 9. In Him dwelleth all
the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9), so that as the Holy Shekineh
illumined the pathway of ancient Israel, the nations of the redeemed will
walk in the light of His glory.
The gates of the city correspond with the number of the tribes of Israel;
and the “names of the apostles” are in its foundations. Thus Paul affirms
that the “fellow citizens” of “the household of God” are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner-stone, Eph. 2:20.
The dimensions of the city are in length equal to the breadth—and 1500
miles in circumference, or 375 miles square. The length is in all parts
equal; and so is the breadth, and the height,—the latter being 216 feet.
Its splendor is fully equal to all that inspiration has recorded
respecting those on whom the Lord will have “everlasting kindness;” and to
whom he saith: “O thou afflicted, tossed with the tempest, and not
comforted! behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy
foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy
gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy
children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy
children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far
from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall
not come near thee,” Isa. 54:11-14. “Therefore thy gates shall be open
continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto
thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For
the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those
nations shall be utterly wasted. The glory of Lebanon shall come unto
thee, the fir-tree, the pine-tree, and the box together, to beautify the
place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. The
sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and
all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy
feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the Lord, The Zion of the Holy
One of Israel. Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man
went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many
generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck
the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour
and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold,
and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron:
I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness.
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction
within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates
Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness
shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an
everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down;
neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine
everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people
also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the
branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A
little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation; I the
Lord will hasten it in his time,” Isa. 60:11-22.
O scenes surpassing fable, and yet true,
Scenes of accomplish’d bliss! which who can see,
Though but in distant prospect, and not feel
His soul refresh’d with foretaste of the joy?
Rivers of gladness water all the Earth,
And clothe all climes with beauty. The reproach
Of barrenness is past. The fruitful field
Laughs with abundance; and the land, once lean,
Or fertile only in its own disgrace,
Exults to see its thistly curse repeal’d.
The various seasons woven into one,
And that one season an eternal spring,
The garden fears no blight, and needs no fence;
For there is none to covet: all are full.
The lion, and the libbard, and the bear,
Graze with the fearless flocks; all bask at noon
Together, or all gambol in the shade
Of the same grove, and drink one common stream.
Antipathies are none. No foe to man
Lurks in the serpent now: the mother sees,
And smiles to see, her infant’s playful hand
Stretch’d forth to dally with the crested worm,
To stroke his azure neck, or to receive
The lambent homage of his arrowy tongue.
All creatures worship man, and all mankind
One Lord, one Father. Error has no place;
That creeping pestilence is driv’n away:
The breath of Heav’n has chas’d it. In the heart
No passion touches a discordant string,
But all is harmony and love. Disease
Is not: the pure and uncontaminate blood
Holds its due course, nor fears the frost of age.
One song employs all nations; and all cry,
“Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us!”
The dwellers in the vales and on the rocks
Shout to each other, and the mountain-tops
From distant mountains catch the flying joy;
Till, nation after nation taught the strain,
Earth rolls the rapturous Hosanna round.
Behold the measure of the promise fill’d!
See Salem built, the labor of a God!
Bright as a sun the sacred city shines:
All kingdoms and all princes of the Earth
Flock to that light; the glory of all lands
Flows into her; unbounded is her joy,
And endless her increase. Thy rams are there,
Nebaioth, and the flocks of Kedar there:
The looms of Ormus, and the mines of Ind,
And Saba’s spicy groves, pay tribute there.
Praise is in all her gates; upon her walls,
And in her streets, and in her spacious courts,
Is heard salvation. Eastern Java there
Kneels with the native of the farthest west;
And Æthiopia spreads abroad the hand,
And worships. Her report has travel’d forth
Into all lands. From ev’ry clime they come
To see thy beauty, and to share thy joy,
O Sion! an assembly such as Earth
Saw never, such as Heav’n stoops down to see.
Thus Heav’nward all things tend. For all were once
Perfect, and all must be at length restor’d,
So God has greatly purpos’d: who would else
In his dishonor’d works himself endure
Dishonor, and be wrong’d without redress.
Haste then, and wheel away a shatter’d world,
Ye slow-revolving seasons! we would see
(A sight to which our eyes are strangers yet)
A world that does not dread and hate his laws,
And suffer for its crime; would learn how fair
The creature is, that God pronounces good,
How pleasant in itself what pleases him.—_Cowper._
Final Admonitions.
“And he said to me, These words are faithful and true. And the
Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to
shew his servants the things, which must shortly take place. And
behold, I come quickly: happy is he, who keepeth the words of the
prophecy of this book. And I John saw and heard these things. And
when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet
of the angel who shewed me these things. And he saith to me, See
thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and one of thy brethren
the prophets, and one of those, who keep the words of this book:
worship God. And he saith to me, Seal not up the words of the
prophecy of this book: for the season is near. He, who is unjust,
let him be unjust still: and he, who is filthy, let him be filthy
still: and he, who is righteous, let him perform righteousness
still: and he, who is holy, let him be holy still. Behold, I come
quickly; and my reward is with me, to give each one as his work
shall be. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end. Happy are those, who do his
commandments, that they may have the privilege of the tree of
life, and may enter through the gates into the city. For without
are the Sodomites, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the
murderers, and the idolaters, and whoever loveth and practiseth
falsehood. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify to you these
things in the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of
David, the bright morning-star. And the Spirit and the bride say,
Come! And let him, who heareth, say, Come! And let him, who
thirsteth, come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life
freely.
“I testify to every one, who heareth the words of the prophecy of
this book, If any one shall add to these things, God will add to
him the plagues written in this book: and if any one shall take
away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take
away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, and
from the things written in this book. He, who testifieth these
things, saith, Surely I come quickly. So be it, come, O Lord
Jesus!
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints.” Rev.
22:6-21.
With the representation of the city, the symbols of the Apocalypse are
terminated. What follows are the words of Christ. The import of these is
guarded by his declaration that they are “true and faithful.” There is a
reality and definiteness in them, which will not admit of their being
added to, or taken from. So that any attempt to fritter away their
meaning, will be followed by the curses written in the book, and a loss of
the blessings therein promised.
The command not to seal this prophecy, is in contrast with the close of
Daniel’s prophecy, which was “closed up and sealed till the time of the
end,” Dan. 12:9. The Apocalypse, as its name imports, being an “unveiling”
of the obscurities of Daniel, the seal from the former was removed—the
time of the end, in that sense, being equivalent to the last days, or the
gospel dispensation.
The time was “at hand,” when the great series of predicted events was to
commence. As he that was unjust was to be unjust still, and he that was
righteous was thus to remain, it follows that the visions therein
recorded, continue down to the close of probation; and that the new earth
is one of everlasting reward, wherein is to be fulfilled the promise:
“Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth,” Matt. 5:3.
In this connection the Saviour answers the question, which so perplexed
the Pharisees: If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? Matt.
22:45. Being the Root from whence David sprang, and in his humanity
David’s offspring, he was both his Lord and son.
The invitation appended is one of the most endearing that it is possible
to conceive of, and the threats are the most terrific. These are given for
the admonition of all; and yet how many will turn away from the study of
the book, which commences with a blessing on him “that readeth, and they
that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are
written therein,” (1:3); and closes with an invitation for all to come and
“take of the water of life freely.” It is no mystical record, and there is
nothing equivocal in its predictions. Neither is it to be fulfilled in the
distant future; for “He which testifieth these things saith: Surely I come
quickly.” And shall not every one who loves his Lord respond, “Even so;
come, Lord Jesus.”
“The Church has waited long
Her absent Lord to see;
And still in loneliness she waits,
A friendless stranger she.
Age after age has gone,
Sun after sun has set,
And still, in weeds of widowhood,
She weeps, a mourner yet.”
“The whole creation groans,
And waits to hear that voice
That shall restore her comeliness,
And make her wastes rejoice.
Come, Lord, and wipe away
The curse, the sin, the stain,
And make this blighted world of ours
Thine own fair world again.
Come, then, Lord Jesus, come!”
_Rev. H. A. Bonar_, (_Eng._)