Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1886-11-23
JOHNS VISION OF CHRIST.
DR.. JOHN HALLS NOTES ON THE
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

Suhudyy HNOh' Sc-OOAuCh ACAtg am
He that Liveth, and was Dead"-Rev.
1, 1S-Lesson Text, Rev. i, Ais.
No more important lesson than this has
been studied, and the difficulty will be to
bring into the fixed limits even a brief notice
of the many great truths here touched. The
teacher will explain at the outset that the
whole book is a letter, and while the seven
churches" are formally addressed, the entire
book is an epistle to the whole church
throughout the world.
A second thing the teacher will bear in
mind, namely, that the bold imagery of the
book-and this lesson has much of it's to
be traced to foregoing scripture. The Old
Testament is therefore the standard by which
we are to interpret many of the symbols of
the book Indeed, it presents and completes the
unity of Revelation; for while man begins in
Paradise, from which his sin drives him, he is
seen in the end of Revelation again in Eden,
and holding converse with God without
temptation and without sin.
Our lesson naturally divides itself into the
introduction, the description of Jesus and the
message he sends; but for the purpose of the
class, it will probably be better to take it up
verse by verse.
V. f. John, the friend of Jesus, the life
long preacher, the writer of the gospel, the
sufferer for the truth, the aged disciple, is
well fitted to receive and deliver the mes
sage of the Church's Head. The Hseven
churches" in Asia represent, while they are
one by one, no doubt truly described, the
conditions of the whole Church in all time.
Asia-sometimes called Proconsular Asia
includes only small part of the continent
now so described. 1t is the Asia yeferred to
in l Peter i, l; Acts ii, 9; vi, g. "Grace and
peace" are in the usual New Testament bless
ing. mercy" is inserted in the Epistles to
Timothy. The description from him (which
is" ETC., can only apply to God the Father,
the 81 Am, who is "from everlasting to ever
lasting" See Gods description of himself
to Isaiah, Isa- XII, 4; xiv, g. The seven
spirits" cannot be angels or creatures
of any sort, or they would not be placed be-
tween the Father and the Son in this ac-
count. The lamp of the tabernacle, the sa-
cred and perfect number seven, found in the
same connection in Zech. iv, 2, 6, and the
fact that the gift Of the Spirit are sevenfold
in Isa. xi, 2, explain this language. The per-
feet, sevenfOld work of the one divine Per-
son we have brought before u.s. 1t is the
idea of 1 Cor. xii, 4, Universities of gifts, but
the same Spirit. :" This Spirit is given through
Christ; hence Rev. iii, 1; iv, 5, and V, 6.
V. s. Jesus is the faithful witness to Gods
character and law, concerning all eternal
things, from God to men. Jesus himself often
employed the word witness" He is the first
begotten from the dead"; for though there
were resurrections before his lazarus, e. g0,
they were only temporary, and the last
enemy came again. But Jesus "dieth no
niole' anu nio iIsins - one erouiiu Vi all
ocheI SuiIecI,ons lleH prince
OF tne Kings or tne eartn as ne sald, All
power IS gwen e'c'' MAUI, &xVnl' 10. rs IL,
2; OK, 81 linen comes tne ooxology, IN which
Cnrs1s great "orAlS owned running on INTO
". o. marx tne oroer-love, washing, max
ing kings ana prIests' ETC. we are to give
thls glory 10 Jesus no" ana forever. we
are-an DeheVers.now' kings and priests
unto 600. tfeter ~
" & Cnrlst came once In lowiness- He
VIII come again IN glory, with clouds OF
aWe1nsplrlng DARKNESS Inc idea IS OF terror
TO his enemies, as we see by the next words,
"tney which pierced hlm" wall" etc. To
the saints his coming IS joyful; 1t Is ter
rible to unpardoned sinners Read care
FULLY rs lxlvll, = from which perhaps this
idea comes. But John and all believers re-
joice in his coming and in all he does. So
"Even so, Amen"
V. 8. The divine Being describes himself at
greater length, as in v. 4, taking the first and
last letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and
omega-'the beginning and the ending"-to
represent his eternity, and repeating the Ian
guage of v. 4, adding "the Almighty" OF
this supreme cause of all, Jesus is the repre-
sentative; and while men reject him now,
and in so doing reject the Almighty, when he
comes again it will be to assert and vindicate
divine right, and his enemies will quail be-
fore him. (See Zech. xii, 10)
V. g. John now describes himself in Ian
guage which could apply to no other John
than the apostle. "Brother'-how be puts
himself on level with the ordinary believersI
All were there suffering for the truth, hence
companion in tribulation;" but all had joy
and strengIn In tne kinguonl ana patience OF
Jesus ne was an e1lie u, Il, la'inoS' rocky
lsle IN Ine hsean sea- luz soVerLilent Oh
Oonlitlan was tIJ ing W Pu' uo"n CnrlS'Aan-
lty. Inc cause Oh lis DanlsnnlenG was Ior
the WORD Oh zoo "a, ana tne witness ne was
bearing 70 JESUS lucy coaiu Piace MN On
tne DaSe, DieaA rocAs' ou' 'ney couiu HoS rOo
MIN OF MS JOY.
" ~. Inc Lorus uay nrs' occurs mere
as phrase ana soon came nlto general use:
IL Is gooa aeScrlpllon ol Cne nrS1 Gay OF
tne week, 1ne oay ol nls rlSing' ne was In
tne opirit -nos mercy as al GoGs people
are ln 1ne 0Plri' VUal " lo, ~ ouI spec
lally TAUGHT neipeu ana couiIor'eo' "neh
UOds people suner luz n.h' ne gives Unenn
blessed conipensa'ioh, No.ice Tue slShil,cance
Oh 1ne ueSc[lp'ion.1ne 5orus uay, house,
supper, people, service For .he EC!ee, 10 eS Ol
uunpeV' see yum, A. 9 To- IAtnl, d.
" II gives nls'r uc1iohs W "Ii'e Tue cOiA,
lulilca'iois no" " De iiisue W nllii anu S7lu
tnem 10 1ne seven cnurcheS nanleu. mere
were aouDtleSs many more tnah IneSe, pu1 %
prooaDly IneSe are chosen W represent W 'ne
Iuture tne DANGERS uuCies' ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ~
ana nopes 10 De kept IN niino ny al OOos
people IN Ineir various conulIions, me nlS-
OorV Oh tne enuicn Shows 'ne D7eo Vi Sucn
revelation. We do not take the commission
to include only the epistles to each, but the
whole revelation to the end.
v IL The speaker is seen among Seven
golden candlesticks," the description as in
the Septuagint of Ex. XIV, 81 Heb. tx, p, re-
produced in Zech. iv, 2
V. 13, and representing the churches,
many in number, dependent for the light
they give out on him who is in the midst. A
candlestick by itself gives no light 1t holds