Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-08-05
THE SEER
OF PATMOS

I Last Saturday we made SOME OBJ
servations on Elisha the Tishbite
which were suggested upon reading
the announcement that an itinerant
minister of the gospel, now in this
city, was to deliver an address upon
that wonderful individual who sud
denly appeared in Israel at a criti:
cal time in the history of the Hebrew
race, and who so suddenly took his
| departure in most spectacular man.
ner, leaving nothing behind save his
mantel which fell upon his success.
sor, Elisha. The Gazette has no Sum
day edition; hence whatever sugGcs.
tions we may have to make concern
ing things spiritual are occasionally
printed on Saturday. ?
We notice that the minister refer
red to is delivering a series Of adj
dresses on the Book of the Revelation
and that he is now engaged in COM
menting upon the first three shapters,
letters to the seven churches of Asia
Unfortunately many attempt to
expound the mysteries of this remar-
able book without having first made
themselves familiar with everything
else in the sacred canon. This is a
5lundcr, equal to the stupidity Of at
tempting to understand the higher
branches of mathematics before ac-
curing the ground rules of artihme-
tic, or presuming to calculate cclipses
or the temperance Of comets With
out understanding the solar system.
We suppose the preacher rofcrred te
is supplied with this essential.
A divine in this city on one occasion
after his attention had been called
to some text in the Book of the Rcve-
lation replied, "Only ignoramuses anc
negro preachers attempt to cxoound
this book"
This observation was ulcalled for
ana unchristiau, and the fact that the
rank and file desire to !inow more
concerning the last production in the
sacred canon is {. good omcn, and
tln-c whose place it is to eNpound
the scripture might occasionally TALL
Gin this book. The fact Shat r:cries
come from the pew is proof conclu
s;ve that the laity want Knowledge.
and to stiflc that thirst is unwise, to
say the least. Pope is said to have
been a small specimen o. tho genus
homo, with bent frame and far from
rrcpossessing in personal appearance.
Hc was, however, a scholar. lyon
one occasion he found himself in the
company Of some of the literati of
london who were puzzled over {,
Latin quotation which none in the
party could translate. Pore looked
over their shoulders anu remarked,
IF you will place an Interrogation
point after one word, you will sec the
sense" One Of the party turned upon
him Mjd in sneering maine: asked.
"W'hat is an interrogation point? 2"
Pope replied, softly, ga little crool;
which asks questions"
There is always a small percentage
of little crooks in all congregations,
and sometimes they have the tcmc-
ri,y to PROFOUND queries.
But to come back to this strange
produclion-strange not only from
a spiritual standpoint, bus as lite
rary composition.
It is supposed to have been writ.
zen by John the Apostle, who eracuat.
cd in theology while s. nchauicr in
the Sea Of Galilce. The symbolic
language he uses, his figures of
speech and his marvellous categorical
pictures have carried laity and pre-
iates over their heads and hands, I'M
til many processing Christians have
long since ceased to read the book
alleging they can "get nothing out
of it." Doubtless they are the losers
We rather sympathize with the
man who has the nerve to attempt to
explain the production under such
circumstances, and often wonder why
1t IS thus, as it surely could not have
been the intention of the Inspirer Of
molly writ to indict., a Chinese puzzle
ana urge disciples to read it, as is
done in the preface.
/ Apocalypse is the name of the RooL