Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-05-25
whEas IS TIE IRsE OF LEE.



1.-The tree Of life, is present location,
and the conditions upon which We can
have right 10 t." was the subject OF
Elder Aoose's discourse last evening al
Good Templsr Hall. The text MAS
found IN Rev y, IA SAID he the book
Of Revelation is truly wonderful pro-
phecy reaching as lt does from A. ID.
90, the year il which It IS supposed 10
have been writtenl. over into the eter-
nal state. The cruel Roman Emperor
supposed that when be BANS bed the
Apostles 10 the dreary island or Patmos
that he had silenced hun forever. But
how Was il. While the tyrant Doml-
tan wall sink into inglorious oblivion
the name of the "be.oyed disciple"
Will be leld IN the most sacred rsmem-
brance. Even so ofIentlmes the hamb-
flower emlts the sweetest fragrance
long after separation from the parent
stem. In proof We have simply
10 mention the case OF Paul
while prisoner at Rome. and IN later
times the ''plous tinker" John
Bunyan twelve years prisoner
in Bedford jail. In TINS text two GEN.
trail figures stand out IN bold relief,
namely. the Tree of Life" and the
"Clty or God" We conclude that the
are thus prominent as as an incentive
tC obedlance. Proof, blessed are
they that do His commandments, that
they may have right 10 the tree of life.
and may enter through the gates into
the city" But whose commandments,
YOU ask-John's, No. Gods? Yes.
Proof, see Rev., j, !. You will notice
that the instruction is from God 10
Christ, and then from Christ TO the
Angel, from the Angel to John, and
from him To us. 1t then is the same as
God speaking to us. 1t Is HIS com
mandments that We are to do For
furthur proof see Ex., Xxx, liz; Deut.
5-23. But why preach SO much about
the binding claims of Gods Law? Be-
cause God has spoken before Us. lie
says in Eccl., xii, 1914: That the
keeping of His commandments is the
whole duty of man." Then certainly
II is important. Are they binding III
this dipensaton? So said the Saviour
IN Matt, V, 1920; SO said
Paul in ROM, i'll, 81; so said
the Revelator in the words of ouI
text. The reward for disobedience viii
be "rlght TO the tree of hfe.'
Adam through disobedience lost right
| to it-Gen. 3, 22, "a; and death came a;
a consequence Rom. 5, II. Is. BY
virtue of its life giving properties he
was enabled to live nearly one thousand
years.
His defendants for many generations
were long lived. but they, too, finally
| died. Christ came to restore man to 8
condition where it could safely be com
mltted to him again.-Micah 4, 8; Mat
Is, IL; Cor Is, 81, %.
But where is the tree of life? Johr
says it is "in Paradise 2,7. THAI
it ''grows beside the river of life"-Rev
%, .. "The river of LIE proceed
from the throne of God" David sale
"The throne of God IS in Heaven
Pisa. IL, 4. We find thre that the "lift
tree" is in Heaven where God resides
I'd Chron. &, q, 33. Why is access to th'
tree of life blessing? Becausethe wage
of sin being death" mot life) land WI
all have slnned." "The soul that sin
meth it shall de-" etc. To those, then
who seek for it through obedience
trusting in the merits of Christ, immor
tally will be given. Rom. H.. Z. Ma,
is mortal, decaying Job iv, ~, dying
but "God alone hath Immortality.
Tim. vi, l6. He alone can and VIII
confer this gift upon the obedient. Blu
how? Is it not this way? "God only
hath immortality" II Tim. vi, l6)
Man has it not inherently, but if faith
full God will permit him to eat Of TIM
stree of hfe.' "That bears twelv.
manner of fruits and yields he
fruit every month";" Rev. xxi, 2. 9Th,
tree of life grows on either side o
the river of hfe," which, as we read
proceeds from the throne of God"-
Rev. xii. !. God, "who only hath I'M
mortality" (life). and who "sitteth upol
His THRONE" imparts His immortalit
to the "river of hfe;" the stree of life
draws it's nourishment from the "rive
Of life," and man is permitted to eat O
its fruit, as he visits the city from on
month to another, and as result pei
petuates his life, or lives forever-se
Isa. Xvi, 1928. The "wages of sin j
DEATH" but the reward (gift) of obed
fence is hfe-rIght to the tree Of life.
| III disObedience debarred Adam fror
the source of life, and as q consequence
he died, may we not conclude tina
obedience will give him access to tn
source of life again and he will liv
forever? So it appears from the teach
ipg's OF Gods Word. Amen.