The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-06-17

|. The Long Conflict Between Good
land Evil Rev. 4-20--We now turn
from the glorious Savior-King and his
messages to the churches of our laet
lesson. in the first three chapters, to
the final contamination in Rev. 81
and 22.
When the seals of the book are
opened we see visions in symbolic
forms There comes before us, first
the white horse of Christ, the armed
conqueror, and then the red horse Of
war, the black horse Of famine, the
pale horse Of Death. Then follow the
trumpets, first, as in the case Of the
seals, announcing the prayers of the
saints, sweet odors from golden cen
sers, and sweet incense from golden
affairs; and Immediately, at the trum-
pets blast, come visions of earth
quakes and lightnings and volcanoes
and darkness and falling stars and
fierce armies and horses breathing
fire and birthstone.
Then come the Walls of wrath pour
cd out upon men. diseases. plaques,
darkness, unclean spirits, persecu-
tioI1. disasters, fierce battles. There
folAgs a vision of the city OF worldli-
neN and sin. reveling in luxuries and
going swiftly on the way to death.
But this is only a part OF the pic
ture, the part on which the hopeless
the pessimist. the discouraged gaze
almost exclusively. 1t is easy to
realize the feelings Of many who lived
''in the dark days when the number of
the saints had been reduced to the
very lowest. when the church lost her
members on both hands, her faithful
ones by martyrdom, her faithless ones
by apostacy, and when this had gone
on through such awful days as those
which had been foreshadowed in the
seals and In the trumpets, till the
church seemed annihilated. annihilat-
ed SO utterly that Roman emperor
had struck a medal to celebrate the
nnal extinction Of the pernicious sect. .
Prof. +. g. Lewis. But all through
these visions are songs OF triumph
and praise, like those Paul and Silas
sang In their prison torture. Hallelu-
jahs sound sweet and clear over the
roar of the thunders Read the grand
climax in Rev. II: 49,
The Kingdom OF the World is Be
come the Kingdom of Our Lord and
Of His Christ: and He Shall Reign for
Ever and Ever.
The Babylon Of worldliness falls
the beast is destroyed, the song OF
Moses and the Lamb Is heard, the
church sings with the voice OF many
waters. The marriage supper Is pre-
pared, the martyr spirit again fills
the churches. The Lord Christ, with
his banner, Faithful and True, rides
triumphant at the head OF his armies,
Satan is bound, death and hell are
destroyed, and We are ready to see
the city Of God. the finished work OF
Christ in the world.
Note % That same conflict is still
going on. We still feel and see the
evil, we liye in the chaos from which
new worlds are born, we are some
times disheartened. (2) But the same
Savior we studied last Sunday ia
Leader and triumphant King. (3) All
through the conflict many are singing
the songs Of thanksgiving and praise.
90 The way to triumph now is just
the same as then. through a new i'm
partatlon OF the martyr-spirit, the
spirit of sacrifice, OF love, duty, SER
vice, faithfulness even to the end (;
through the exaItation OF Christ In our
tearts and in the church.
IL. The Consummation. The City OF
God. Rev. 21. 22.--we now come to
that to which the whole world. under
the leadership Of Christ. is tending,
hnd at which 1t will ultimately arrive.
The New Jerusalem. Does this SYM
bolize earth or heaven? Some parts
OF the description apply to earth and
not to heaven. and some to heaven
and not TO earth. The Holy City des-
cends from heaven to earth. There IS
60 be a new earth, the outward. mate
rial expression OF the perfected gos-
pel work, and a new heaven, the spir-
itual. the intellectual. the heavenly
spirit and ideals. Both this world re-
newed. and the heaven above TO
which we are going, are both included
An the vision.
The City was a cube. equal in its
three dimensions. symbolizing a per
feet balance OF character.
/. Height. There are mystic Christ
fans, with high emotions, exalted feel
ings, revival experiences, noble, devo-
tional fervor. uplifted by music and
eloquence. This is great blessing,
and whoever has not had such ex-
periences has lost much OF the best
In life.
2. Length. There are those who
walk forever over the long. narrow
plank Of duty, never looking up to the
stars, never looking around. but sim
ply pressing on through the daily task,
and making life monotonous rou-
tine" It is morality, law. as distinct
from the gospel. But the commonest
duties can not be best done without
the inspiration and Joy of the higher
experiences.