Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:
for the time is at hand. - REVELATION.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of
our God, in the mountain of His holiness. - PSALMS.
558:1 ST. JOHN writes, in the tenth chapter of his book of
Revelation: -
558:3 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven,
clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and
his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of
558:6 fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he
set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the
earth.
The new Evangel
558:9 This angel or message which comes from God, clothed
with a cloud, prefigures divine Science. To mortal sense
Science seems at first obscure, abstract, and
558:12 dark; but a bright promise crowns its brow.
When understood, it is Truth's prism and praise. When
you look it fairly in the face, you can heal by its means,
558:15 and it has for you a light above the sun, for God "is the
light thereof." Its feet are pillars of fire, foundations
of Truth and Love. It brings the baptism of the Holy
558:18 Ghost, whose flames of Truth were prophetically de-
scribed by John the Baptist as consuming error.
Truth's volume
559:1 This angel had in his hand "a little book," open for
all to read and understand. Did this same book contain
559:3 the revelation of divine Science, the "right
foot" or dominant power of which was upon
the sea, - upon elementary, latent error, the source of
559:6 all error's visible forms? The angel's left foot was upon
the earth; that is, a secondary power was exercised upon
visible error and audible sin. The "still, small voice"
559:9 of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean
to the globe's remotest bound. The inaudible voice of
Truth is, to the human mind, "as when a lion roareth."
559:12 It is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear. It
arouses the "seven thunders" of evil, and stirs their latent
forces to utter the full diapason of secret tones. Then is
559:15 the power of Truth demonstrated, - made manifest in
the destruction of error. Then will a voice from harmony
cry: "Go and take the little book. . . . Take it, and eat
559:18 it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in
thy mouth sweet as honey." Mortals, obey the heavenly
evangel. Take divine Science. Read this book from
559:21 beginning to end. Study it, ponder it. It will be indeed
sweet at its first taste, when it heals you; but murmur not
over Truth, if you find its digestion bitter. When you
559:24 approach nearer and nearer to this divine Principle, when
you eat the divine body of this Principle, - thus partak-
ing of the nature, or primal elements, of Truth and Love,
559:27 - do not be surprised nor discontented because you must
share the hemlock cup and eat the bitter herbs; for the
Israelites of old at the Paschal meal thus prefigured this
559:30 perilous passage out of bondage into the El Dorado of faith
and hope.
To-day's lesson
The twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse, or Revela-
560:1 tion of St. John, has a special suggestiveness in connec-
tion with the nineteenth century. In the opening of the
560:3 sixth seal, typical of six thousand years since
Adam, the distinctive feature has reference
to the present age.
560:6 /Revelation/ xii. 1. And there appeared a great wonder in
heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
560:9 stars.
True estimate of God's messenger
Heaven represents harmony, and divine Science inter-
prets the Principle of heavenly harmony. The great
560:12 miracle, to human sense, is divine Love, and
the grand necessity of existence is to gain the
true idea of what constitutes the kingdom of
560:15 heaven in man. This goal is never reached while we
hate our neighbor or entertain a false estimate of any-
one whom God has appointed to voice His Word. Again,
560:18 without a correct sense of its highest visible idea, we can
never understand the divine Principle. The botanist must
know the genus and species of a plant in order to classify
560:21 it correctly. As it is with things, so is it with persons.
Persecution harmful
Abuse of the motives and religion of St. Paul hid from
view the apostle's character, which made him equal to
560:24 his great mission. Persecution of all who have
spoken something new and better of God has
not only obscured the light of the ages, but has been fatal
560:27 to the persecutors. Why? Because it has hid from
them the true idea which has been presented. To mis-
understand Paul, was to be ignorant of the divine idea he
560:30 taught. Ignorance of the divine idea betrays at once a
greater ignorance of the divine Principle of the idea - igno-
561:1 rance of Truth and Love. The understanding of Truth
and Love, the Principle which works out the ends of eternal
561:3 good and destroys both faith in evil and the practice of
evil, leads to the discernment of the divine idea.
Espousals supernal
Agassiz, through his microscope, saw the sun in an
561:6 egg at a point of so-called embryonic life. Because of
his more spiritual vision, St. John saw an
"angel standing in the sun." The Revelator
561:9 beheld the spiritual idea from the mount of vision.
Purity was the symbol of Life and Love. The Revelator
saw also the spiritual ideal as a woman clothed in light, a
561:12 bride coming down from heaven, wedded to the Lamb
of Love. To John, "the bride" and "the Lamb" repre-
sented the correlation of divine Principle and spiritual idea,
561:15 God and His Christ, bringing harmony to earth.
Divinity and humanity
John saw the human and divine coincidence, shown in
the man Jesus, as divinity embracing humanity in Life
561:18 and its demonstration, - reducing to human
perception and understanding the Life which
is God. In divine revelation, material and corporeal self-
561:21 hood disappear, and the spiritual idea is understood.
Spiritual sunlight
The woman in the Apocalypse symbolizes generic man,
the spiritual idea of God; she illustrates the coincidence
561:24 of God and man as the divine Principle and
divine idea. The Revelator symbolizes Spirit
by the sun. The spiritual idea is clad with the radiance
561:27 of spiritual Truth, and matter is put under her feet. The
light portrayed is really neither solar nor lunar, but spirit-
ual Life, which is "the light of men." In the first chapter
561:30 of the Fourth Gospel it is written, "There was a man sent
from God . . . to bear witness of that Light."
Spiritual idea revealed
John the Baptist prophesied the coming of the im-
562:1 maculate Jesus, and John saw in those days the spiritual
idea as the Messiah, who would baptize with the Holy
562:3 Ghost,- divine Science. As Elias presented
the idea of the fatherhood of God, which Jesus
afterwards manifested, so the Revelator completed this
562:6 figure with woman, typifying the spiritual idea of God's
motherhood. The moon is under her feet. This idea
reveals the universe as secondary and tributary to Spirit,
562:9 from which the universe borrows its reflected light, sub-
stance, life, and intelligence.
Spiritual idea crowned
The spiritual idea is crowned with twelve stars. The
562:12 twelve tribes of Israel with all mortals, - separated by
belief from man's divine origin and the true
idea, - will through much tribulation yield to
562:15 the activities of the divine Principle of man in the har-
mony of Science. These are the stars in the crown of
rejoicing. They are the lamps in the spiritual heavens
562:18 of the age, which show the workings of the spiritual idea
by healing the sick and the sinning, and by manifesting
the light which shines "unto the perfect day" as the night
562:21 of materialism wanes.
/Revelation/ xii. 2. And she being with child cried, travail-
ing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
Travail and joy
562:24 Also the spiritual idea is typified by a woman in tra-
vail, waiting to be delivered of her sweet promise, but re-
membering no more her sorrow for joy that
562:27 the birth goes on; for great is the idea, and the
travail portentous.
/Revelation/ xii. 3. And there appeared another wonder in
562:30 heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads
and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
The dragon as a type
563:1 Human sense may well marvel at discord, while, to a
diviner sense., harmony is the real and discord the unreal.
563:3 We may well be astonished at sin, sickness, and
death. We may well be perplexed at human
fear; and still more astounded at hatred, which lifts
563:6 its hydra head, showing its horns in the many inventions
of evil. But why should we stand aghast at nothingness?
The great red dragon symbolizes a lie, - the belief
563:9 that substance, life, and intelligence can be material.
This dragon stands for the sum total of human error.
The ten horns of the dragon typify the belief that mat-
563:12 ter has power of its own, and that by means of an
evil mind in matter the Ten Commandments can be
broken.
The sting of the serpent
563:15 The Revelator lifts the veil from this embodiment of
all evil, and beholds its awful character; but he also
sees the nothingness of evil and the allness of
563:18 God. The Revelator sees that old serpent,
whose name is devil or evil, holding untiring watch, that
he may bite the heel of truth and seemingly impede the
563:21 offspring of the spiritual idea, which is prolific in health,
holiness, and immortality.
/Revelation/ xii. 4. And his tail drew the third part of the
563:24 stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the
dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be
delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
Animal tendency
563:27 The serpentine form stands for subtlety, winding its
way amidst all evil, but doing this in the name of good.
Its sting is spoken of by Paul, when he refers
563:30 to "spiritual wickedness in high places." It
is the animal instinct in mortals, which would impel
564:1 them to devour each other and cast out devils through
Beelzebub.
564:3 As of old, evil still charges the spiritual idea with error's
own nature and methods. This malicious animal in-
stinct, of which the dragon is the type, incites mortals to
564:6 kill morally and physically even their fellow-mortals, and
worse still, to charge the innocent with the crime. This
last infirmity of sin will sink its perpetrator into a night
564:9 without a star.
Malicious barbarity
The author is convinced that the accusations against
Jesus of Nazareth and even his crucifixion were instigated
564:12 by the criminal instinct here described. The
Revelator speaks of Jesus as the Lamb of God
and of the dragon as warring against innocence. Since Jesus
564:15 must have been tempted in all points, he, the immaculate,
met and conquered sin in every form. The brutal bar-
barity of his foes could emanate from no source except the
564:18 highest degree of human depravity. Jesus "/opened not
his mouth/." Until the majesty of Truth should be demon-
strated in divine Science, the spiritual idea was arraigned
564:21 before the tribunal of so-called mortal mind, which was
unloosed in order that the false claim of mind in matter
might uncover its own crime of defying immortal Mind.
Doom of the dragon
564:24 From Genesis to the Apocalypse, sin, sickness, and
death, envy, hatred, and revenge, - all evil, - are typi-
fied by a serpent, or animal subtlety. Jesus
564:27 said, quoting a line from the Psalms, "They
hated me without a cause." The serpent is perpetually
close upon the heel of harmony. From the beginning
564:30 to the end, the serpent pursues with hatred the spiritual
idea. In Genesis, this allegorical, talking serpent typi-
fies mortal mind, "more subtle than any beast of the
565:1 field." In the Apocalypse, when nearing its doom, this
evil increases and becomes the great red dragon, swollen
565:3 with sin, inflamed with war against spirituality, and ripe
for destruction. It is full of lust and hate, loathing the
brightness of divine glory.
565:6 /Revelation/ xii. 5. And she brought forth a man child,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her
child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.
The conflict with purity
565:9 Led on by the grossest element of mortal mind, Herod
decreed the death of every male child in order that the
man Jesus, the masculine representative of the
565:12 spiritual idea might never hold sway and de-
prive Herod of his crown. The impersonation of the
spiritual idea had a brief history in the earthly life of our
565:15 Master; but "of his kingdom there shall be no end,"
for Christ, God's idea, will eventually rule all nations
and peoples - imperatively, absolutely, finally - with di-
565:18 vine Science. This immaculate idea, represented first
by man and, according to the Revelator, last by woman,
will baptize with fire; and the fiery baptism will burn up
565:21 the chaff of error with the fervent heat of Truth and Love,
melting and purifying even the gold of human character.
After the stars sang together and all was primeval har-
565:24 mony, the material lie made war upon the spiritual idea;
but this only impelled the idea to rise to the zenith of
demonstration, destroying sin, sickness, and death, and
565:27 to be caught up unto God, - to be found in its divine
Principle.
/Revelation/ xii. 6. And the woman fled into the wilder-
565:30 ness, where she hath a place prepared of God.
Spiritual guidance
566:1 As the children of Israel were guided triumphantly
through the Red Sea, the dark ebbing and flowing tides
566:3 of human fear, - as they were led through the
wilderness, walking wearily through the great
desert of human hopes, and anticipating the promised
566:6 joy, - so shall the spiritual idea guide all right desires
in their passage from sense to Soul, from a material sense
of existence to the spiritual, up to the glory prepared for
566:9 them who love God. Stately Science pauses not, but
moves before them, a pillar of cloud by day and of fire
by night, leading to divine heights.
566:12 If we remember the beautiful description which Sir
Walter Scott puts into the mouth of Rebecca the Jewess
in the story of Ivanhoe, -
566:15 When Israel, of the Lord beloved,
Out of the land of bondage came,
Her fathers' God before her moved,
566:18 An awful guide, in smoke and flame, -
we may also offer the prayer which concludes the same
hymn, -
566:21 And oh, when stoops on Judah's path
In shade and storm the frequent night,
Be Thou, longsuffering, slow to wrath,
566:24 A burning and a shining light!
/Revelation/ xii. 7, 8. And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the
566:27 dragon fought, and his angels, and prevailed not; neither
was their place found any more in heaven.
Angelic offices
The Old Testament assigns to the angels, God's divine
566:30 messages, different offices. Michael's charac-
teristic is spiritual strength. He leads the
hosts of heaven against the power of sin, Satan, and
567:1 fights the holy wars. Gabriel has the more quiet task
of imparting a sense of the ever-presence of ministering
567:3 Love. These angels deliver us from the depths. Truth
and Love come nearer in the hour of woe, when strong
faith or spiritual strength wrestles and prevails through
567:6 the understanding of God. The Gabriel of His presence
has no contests. To infinite, ever-present Love, all is
Love, and there is no error, no sin, sickness, nor death.
567:9 Against Love, the dragon warreth not long, for he is
killed by the divine Principle. Truth and Love prevail
against the dragon because the dragon cannot war with
567:12 them. Thus endeth the conflict between the flesh and
Spirit.
/Revelation/ xii. 9. And the great dragon was cast out,
567:15 that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiv-
eth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him.
Dragon cast down to earth
567:18 That false claim - that ancient belief, that old serpent
whose name is devil (evil), claiming that there is intelli-
gence in matter either to benefit or to injure
567:21 men - is pure delusion, the red dragon; and
it is cast out by Christ, Truth, the spiritual
idea, and so proved to be powerless. The words "cast
567:24 unto the earth" show the dragon to be nothingness, dust
to dust; and therefore, in his pretence of being a talker,
he must be a lie from the beginning. His angels, or mes-
567:27 sages, are cast out with their author. The beast and the
false prophets are lust and hypocrisy. These wolves in
sheep's clothing are detected and killed by innocence, the
567:30 Lamb of Love.
Warfare with error
Divine Science shows how the Lamb slays the wolf.
568:1 Innocence and Truth overcome guilt and error. Ever
since the foundation of the world, ever since error would
568:3 establish material belief, evil has tried to slay
the Lamb; but Science is able to destroy this
lie, called evil. The twelfth chapter of the Apocalypse
568:6 typifies the divine method of warfare in Science, and the
glorious results of this warfare. The following chapters
depict the fatal effects of trying to meet error with error.
568:9 The narrative follows the order used in Genesis. In
Genesis, first the true method of creation is set forth and
then the false. Here, also, the Revelator first exhibits
568:12 the true warfare and then the false.
/Revelation/ xii. 10 - 12. And I heard a loud voice saying
in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the
568:15 kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the
accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them
before our God day and night. And they overcame him by
568:18 the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the
568:21 inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is
come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time.
Paean of jubilee
568:24 For victory over a single sin, we give thanks and mag-
nify the Lord of Hosts. What shall we say of the mighty
conquest over all sin? A louder song, sweeter
568:27 than has ever before reached high heaven,
now rises clearer and nearer to the great heart of Christ;
for the accuser is not there, and Love sends forth her
568:30 primal and everlasting strain. Self-abnegation, by which
we lay down all for Truth, or Christ, in our warfare against
error, is a rule in Christian Science. This rule clearly
569:1 interprets God as divine Principle, - as Life, represented
by the Father; as Truth, represented by the Son; as Love,
569:3 represented by the Mother. Every mortal at some period,
here or hereafter, must grapple with and overcome the
mortal belief in a power opposed to God.
The robe of Science
569:6 The Scripture, "Thou hast been faithful over a few
things, I will make thee ruler over many," is literally ful-
filled, when we are conscious of the supremacy
569:9 of Truth, by which the nothingness of error
is seen; and we know that the nothingness of error is in
proportion to its wickedness. He that touches the hem
569:12 of Christ's robe and masters his mortal beliefs, animality,
and hate, rejoices in the proof of healing, - in a sweet
and certain sense that God is Love. Alas for those who
569:15 break faith with divine Science and fail to strangle the
serpent of sin as well as of sickness! They are dwellers
still in the deep darkness of belief. They are in the surg-
569:18 ing sea of error, not struggling to lift their heads above the
drowning wave.
Expiation by suffering
What must the end be? They must eventually expi-
569:21 ate their sin through suffering. The sin, which one has
made his bosom companion, comes back to him
at last with accelerated force, for the devil
569:24 knoweth his time is short. Here the Scriptures declare
that evil is temporal, not eternal. The dragon is at last
stung to death by his own malice; but how many periods
569:27 of torture it may take to remove all sin, must depend upon
sin's obduracy.
/Revelation/ xii. 13. And when the dragon saw that he
569:30 was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which
brought forth the man child.
Apathy to occultism
570:1 The march of mind and of honest investigation will
bring the hour when the people will chain, with fetters of
570:3 some sort, the growing occultism of this period.
The present apathy as to the tendency of
certain active yet unseen mental agencies will finally be
570:6 shocked into another extreme mortal mood, - into human
indignation; for one extreme follows another.
/Revelation/ xii. 15, 16. And the serpent cast out of his
570:9 mouth water as a flood, after the woman, that he might
cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth
helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and
570:12 swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his
mouth.
Receptive hearts
Millions of unprejudiced minds - simple seekers for
570:15 Truth, weary wanderers, athirst in the desert - are wait-
ing and watching for rest and drink. Give
them a cup of cold water in Christ's name,
570:18 and never fear the consequences. What if the old dragon
should send forth a new flood to drown the Christ-idea?
He can neither drown your voice with its roar, nor again
570:21 sink the world into the deep waters of chaos and old night.
In this age the earth will help the woman; the spiritual
idea will be understood. Those ready for the blessing
570:24 you impart will give thanks. The waters will be paci-
fied, and Christ will command the wave.
Hidden ways of iniquity
When God heals the sick or the sinning, they should
570:27 know the great benefit which Mind has wrought. They
should also know the great delusion of mor-
tal mind, when it makes them sick or sinful.
570:30 Many are willing to open the eyes of the people to the
power of good resident in divine Mind, but they are
571:1 not so willing to point out the evil in human thought,
and expose evil's hidden mental ways of accomplishing
571:3 iniquity.
Christly warning
Why this backwardness, since exposure is necessary
to ensure the avoidance of the evil? Because people like
571:6 you better when you tell them their virtues
than when you tell them their vices. It re-
quires the spirit of our blessed Master to tell a man his
571:9 faults, and so risk human displeasure for the sake of doing
right and benefiting our race. Who is telling mankind
of the foe in ambush? Is the informer one who sees the
571:12 foe? If so, listen and be wise. Escape from evil, and
designate those as unfaithful stewards who have seen the
danger and yet have given no warning.
The armor of divinity
571:15 At all times and under all circumstances, overcome
evil with good. Know thyself, and God will supply
the wisdom and the occasion for a victory
571:18 over evil. Clad in the panoply of Love,
human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a
higher humanity will unite all interests in the one
571:21 divinity.
Pure religion enthroned
Through trope and metaphor, the Revelator, immortal
scribe of Spirit and of a true idealism, furnishes the
571:24 mirror in which mortals may see their own
image. In significant figures he depicts the
thoughts which he beholds in mortal mind. Thus he
571:27 rebukes the conceit of sin, and foreshadows its doom.
With his spiritual strength, he has opened wide the gates
of glory, and illumined the night of paganism with the
571:30 sublime grandeur of divine Science, outshining sin, sorcery,
lust, and hypocrisy. He takes away mitre and sceptre.
He enthrones pure and undefiled religion, and lifts on
572:1 high only those who have washed their robes white in
obedience and suffering.
Native nothingness of sin
572:3 Thus we see, in both the first and last books of the
Bible, - in Genesis and in the Apocalypse, - that sin
is to be Christianly and scientifically reduced
572:6 to its native nothingness. "Love one an-
other" (I John, iii. 23), is the most simple and profound
counsel of the inspired writer. In Science we are chil-
572:9 dren of God; but whatever is of material sense, or mor-
tal, belongs not to His children, for materiality is the
inverted image of spirituality.
Fulfilment of the Law
572:12 Love fulfils the law of Christian Science, and nothing
short of this divine Principle, understood and demon-
strated, can ever furnish the vision of the
572:15 Apocalypse, open the seven seals of error with
Truth, or uncover the myriad illusions of sin, sickness,
and death. Under the supremacy of Spirit, it will be seen
572:18 and acknowledged that matter must disappear.
In Revelation xxi. 1 we read: -
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
572:21 heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea.
Man's present possibilities
The Revelator had not yet passed the transitional
572:24 stage in human experience called death, but he already
saw a new heaven and a new earth. Through
what sense came this vision to St. John? Not
572:27 through the material visual organs for seeing, for optics
are inadequate to take in so wonderful a scene. Were this
new heaven and new earth terrestrial or celestial, mate-
573:1 rial or spiritual? They could not be the former, for the
human sense of space is unable to grasp such a view.
573:3 The Revelator was on our plane of existence, while yet
beholding what the eye cannot see, - that which is in-
visible to the uninspired thought. This testimony of Holy
573:6 Writ sustains the fact in Science, that the heavens and
earth to one human consciousness, that consciousness
which God bestows, are spiritual, while to another, the
573:9 unillumined human mind, the vision is material. This
shows unmistakably that what the human mind terms
matter and spirit indicates states and stages of con-
573:12 sciousness.
Nearness of Deity
Accompanying this scientific consciousness was an-
other revelation, even the declaration from heaven, su-
573:15 preme harmony, that God, the divine Principle
of harmony, is ever with men, and they are
His people. Thus man was no longer regarded as a mis-
573:18 erable sinner, but as the blessed child of God. Why?
Because St. John's corporeal sense of the heavens and
earth had vanished, and in place of this false sense was
573:21 the spiritual sense, the subjective state by which he could
see the new heaven and new earth, which involve the
spiritual idea and consciousness of reality. This is Scrip-
573:24 tural authority for concluding that such a recognition of
being is, and has been, possible to men in this present
state of existence, - that we can become conscious,
573:27 here and now, of a cessation of death, sorrow, and pain.
This is indeed a foretaste of absolute Christian Science.
Take heart, dear sufferer, for this reality of being will
573:30 surely appear sometime and in some way. There will
be no more pain, and all tears will be wiped away. When
you read this, remember Jesus' words, "The kingdom of
574:1 God is within you." This spiritual consciousness is
therefore a present possibility.
574:3 The Revelator also takes in another view, adapted to
console the weary pilgrim, journeying " uphill all the way."
He writes, in Revelation xxi. 9: -
574:6 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked
with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride,
574:9 the Lamb's wife.
Vials of wrath and consolation
This ministry of Truth, this message from divine Love,
carried John away in spirit. It exalted him till he be-
574:12 came conscious of the spiritual facts of being
and the "New Jerusalem, coming down from
God, out of heaven," - the spiritual outpour-
574:15 ing of bliss and glory, which he describes as the city
which "lieth foursquare." The beauty of this text is,
that the sum total of human misery, represented by
574:18 the seven angelic vials full of seven plagues, has full
compensation in the law of Love. Note this, - that the
very message, or swift-winged thought, which poured
574:21 forth hatred and torment, brought also the experience
which at last lifted the seer to behold the great city, the
four equal sides of which were heaven-bestowed and
574:24 heaven-bestowing.
Spiritual wedlock
Think of this, dear reader, for it will lift the sack-
cloth from your eyes, and you will behold the soft-
574:27 winged dove descending upon you. The very
circumstance, which your suffering sense
deems wrathful and afflictive, Love can make an angel
574:30 entertained unawares. Then thought gently whispers:
575:1 "Come hither! Arise from your false consciousness
into the true sense of Love, and behold the Lamb's
575:3 wife, - Love wedded to its own spiritual idea." Then
cometh the marriage feast, for this revelation will de-
stroy forever the physical plagues imposed by material
575:6 sense.
The city foursquare
This sacred city, described in the Apocalypse (xxi. 16)
as one that "lieth foursquare" and cometh "down from
575:9 God, out of heaven," represents the light and
glory of divine Science. The builder and
maker of this New Jerusalem is God, as we read in the
575:12 book of Hebrews; and it is "a city which hath founda-
tions." The description is metaphoric. Spiritual teach-
ing must always be by symbols. Did not Jesus illustrate
575:15 the truths he taught by the mustard-seed and the prodi-
gal? Taken in its allegorical sense, the description of
the city as foursquare has a profound meaning. The
575:18 four sides of our city are the Word, Christ, Christianity,
and divine Science; "and the gates of it shall not be shut
at all by day: for there shall be no night there." This
575:21 city is wholly spiritual, as its four sides indicate.
The royally divine gates
As the Psalmist saith, "Beautiful for situation, the
joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of
575:24 the north, the city of the great King." It is
indeed a city of the Spirit, fair, royal, and
square. Northward, its gates open to the North Star,
575:27 the Word, the polar magnet of Revelation; eastward,
to the star seen by the Wisemen of the Orient, who fol-
lowed it to the manger of Jesus; southward, to the
575:30 genial tropics, with the Southern Cross in the skies,
- the Cross of Calvary, which binds human society
into solemn union; westward, to the grand realization
576:1 of the Golden Shore of Love and the Peaceful Sea of
Harmony.
Revelation's pure zenith
576:3 This heavenly city, lighted by the Sun of Righteous-
ness, - this New Jerusalem, this infinite All, which to
us seems hidden in the mist of remoteness, -
576:6 reached St. John's vision while yet he taber-
nacled with mortals.
In Revelation xxi. 22, further describing this holy city,
576:9 the beloved Disciple writes: -
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of it.
The shrine celestial
576:12 There was no temple, - that is, no material structure
in which to worship God, for He must be worshipped
in spirit and in love. The word /temple/ also
576:15 means body. The Revelator was familiar
with Jesus' use of this word, as when Jesus spoke of his
material body as the temple to be temporarily rebuilt
576:18 (John ii. 21). What further indication need we of the
real man's incorporeality than this, that John saw
heaven and earth with "no temple [body] therein"?
576:21 This kingdom of God "is within you," - is within
reach of man's consciousness here, and the spiritual
idea reveals it. In divine Science, man possesses this
576:24 recognition of harmony consciously in proportion to his
understanding of God.
Divine sense of Deity
The term Lord, as used in our version of the Old
576:27 Testament, is often synonymous with Jehovah, and ex-
presses the Jewish concept, not yet elevated
to deific apprehension through spiritual trans-
576:30 figuration. Yet the word gradually approaches a higher
meaning. This human sense of Deity yields to the divine
577:1 sense, even as the material sense of personality yields
to the incorporeal sense of God and man as the infinite
577:3 Principle and infinite idea, - as one Father with His uni-
versal family, held in the gospel of Love. The Lamb's
wife presents the unity of male and female as no longer
577:6 two wedded individuals, but as two individual natures
in one; and this compounded spiritual individuality re-
flects God as Father-Mother, not as a corporeal being.
577:9 In this divinely united spiritual consciousness, there is no
impediment to eternal bliss, - to the perfectibility of
God's creation.
The city of our God
577:12 This spiritual, holy habitation has no boundary
nor limit, but its four cardinal points are: first, the
Word of Life, Truth, and Love; second,
577:15 the Christ, the spiritual idea of God; third,
Christianity, which is the outcome of the divine Prin-
ciple of the Christ-idea in Christian history; fourth,
577:18 Christian Science, which to-day and forever interprets
this great example and the great Exemplar. This city
of our God has no need of sun or satellite, for Love
577:21 is the light of it, and divine Mind is its own interpreter.
All who are saved must walk in this light. Mighty
potentates and dynasties will lay down their honors
577:24 within the heavenly city. Its gates open towards light
and glory both within and without, for all is good, and
nothing can enter that city, which "defileth. . . . or
577:27 maketh a lie."
The writer's present feeble sense of Christian Science
closes with St. John's Revelation as recorded by the
577:30 great apostle, for his vision is the acme of this Science
as the Bible reveals it.
In the following Psalm one word shows, though faintly,
578:1 the light which Christian Science throws on the Scriptures
by substituting for the corporeal sense, the incorporeal
578:3 or spiritual sense of Deity: -
PSALM XXIII
[DIVINE LOVE] is my shepherd; I shall not want.
578:6 [LOVE] maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
[LOVE] leadeth me beside the still waters.
[LOVE] restoreth my soul [spiritual sense]: [Love] lead-
578:9 eth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil: for [LOVE] is with me; [LOVE's]
578:12 rod and [LOVE'S] staff they comfort me.
[LOVE] prepareth a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies: [LOVE] anointeth my head with oil; my cup
578:15 runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of
my life; and I will dwell in the house [the consciousness]
578:18 of [LOVE] for ever.