Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-11-25
JOHNS VISION OF CHRIST.
DR. JOHN HALLS NOTES ON THE
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

Lesson IN of the International Series for
Sunday, Nov. 2S-Golden Text, Il am
He that Liveth, and was Dead"-Rev.
i, IS-LessOn Text, Rev. /, 4-I8.
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 g an epistle to the whole church
throughout the world
! A second thing the teacher will bear III
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
weare 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 ND
verse by verse;
V. 1. 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 Churchs Head The "seven
churches" in Asia represent, while they are
one by ono, 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 referred 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 Il Am" who is "from everlasting to ever
lasting" See Gods description of himself
to lSaiah lisa. xii, 4; Xiv, 6. 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
i'll lisa. xi, 3 explain this language The per-
feet, sevenfold work of the one divine Per-
soA we have brought before u.s. 1t is the
idea of Cor. xii, 4, Universities of gifts, but
the same Spirit" This Spirit is given through
Christ; hence Rev. iii, 1; iv, s. and V, 6.
vs. 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. g.D.
they were only temporary, and the last
enemy came again. But Jesus ''dieth no
more" and his rising is the ground of all
other triumphant resurrections Heis s'prince
of the kings of the earth"; as he said. s:al
power is given" ETC., Matt. xviii, IS. FPS. ii.
:; OK, 81 Then comes the doxology, in which
Christ's great work is owned, running on into
V. 6. Mark the order-love, washing, max
ing kings and priests, ETC. We are to give
this glory to Jesus now and forever. We
are-all believers-now, kings and priests
unto God. Peter ii, o.
V. I. Christ came once in lowliness He
will come again in glory, "with clouds" of
awe-inspiring darkness. The idea is of terror
to his enemies, as we see by the next words.
they which pierced him" "wail," etc. To
the saints his coming is joyful; it is ter
rible to unpardoned sinners. Read care
fully Ps lxlvii, 2, from which perhaps thi.
idea comes. But John and all believers Ne
joice in his coming and in all he does. So
"Even SO, Amen"
VS.. The divine Being describes himself ot
greater length, as in v 4, taking the first and
last letters of the Greek alphabet, alpha and
omega-"the beginning and the endingn-to
his eternity, and repeating the Ian
guase of V. 4, adding "tbe Almighty" OF
this supreme cause of all, Jesus is the repre-
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. 0. John now describes himself in Ian.
guage which could apply to no other John
than the apostle. "Brother"- he nuts
himself on level with the ordinary believersl
All were there suffering for the truth, hence
in tribulation;" but all had iov
md strength in tho Kingdom and patience of
Jesus. He was an exile in Patmos, a rocky
sic in the lEgean sea. The government of
Domitian was trying to put down Christian
ty. The cause of his banishment was for
the word of God" and tho witness he was
,earing to Jesus, They could place him on
he bare, bleak rocks, but they could not rob
lin of his joy
V. 10. The Lords day" first occurs here
IS phrase, and soon came into general use.
t is a good description of the first day of
he week, the day of his risng. He was "in
he Spirit" merely as all Gods people
re 'in the Spirit" Gal v, 10, ~ but spec
ally taught, helped and comforted. When
iods people suffer for him, he gives them
blessed compensation. Notice the significance