Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-12-02
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.

Iof Christ and whether the communities
of disciples would remain loyal to his Lord
and do His will and work. Jesus at that
hour lifted for second the surtaln or , tne
he loved something of the future history
of the infant church. revealing unto ms
servant John for the information OF not
only the churches but the coming ieaders
| of the Christian forces the things Whlch
would shortly come to pass. The symoonsn
of the revelation, which was wen under-
stood by John and those OF MS Gay,
showed Jesus still living and standing
,among the churches. watching them.
trimming them. supplying them with OIL
and if necessary removing them.
| In twelve verses of the lesson there ar
at least eleven symbols that have oeeh
used in such a way in the Bible that each
one has a definitive meaning. Space lot
bids the explanation of them all me
position of Christ standing among the
candlesticks, or lamp stands. shows that
| it was the mission of the local churches
| whose names are recorded. and all COM
rnunities of believers to be light bearers
who. although unseen. still reveals HIS
glory and gives His grace to the darkeneo
world through the churches that He has
placed throughout the nations l.. so that as as
lamp stands they may hit up the
| Christ, the light of the world.
| The appearance Of Jesus among His
churches revealed to John and to them
the twofold character OF their risen ana
priest. but He was grit not about me
| loins for difficult service. but about me
breasts symbolical Of the fact that as the
| High Priest His labors for the churches
were not only sH pathetic as their repre-
sentation in glory. but that He was also
with them through the Holy Spirit to
strengthen them 1t was IN this aspe e.
| and hades. He controls within HIS power
| the future life of all men. No Christian
need fear the future when Christ holds
- oil
/ The stern appearance Of the Master also
| indicated possible danger to the
| churches, for His eyes were as flame
/ of fire and His feet like unto fine brass
This was symbolical to John and the
/ churches of judgment. for the fire indi-
Gated the power Of discriminating judg-
ment and the brass was symbolcal OF the
! holy condemnation of evil The churches
that failed of their mission to uphold
| Christ would have to give way to the
organizations that would reveal His love
and salvation to the world. The records
| of Christendom prove how throughout the
! ages those organizations that have failed
| to hold up the Christ have disappeared
and others have been summoned to the
| task. If in the hustle of modern church
| life the Christ is not seen in the life la
| Dor and lessons of the church that COM
munty of souls is doomed to disappear
| from the rolls of the living churches.
| Standing amid the churcheSS Christ
held the stars, His messengers or
/ preachers, in His right hand. The min
| lister of Jesus is not the hired chap
! lain of some contributor or the paid
servant of the church. He is the mes
senger of the Lord Jesus and is not de-
pendent upon them, although it is the
duty of every church to Loyalty sup
port their pastor. AS long as he is
| faithful to the Lord the minister OF
| Jesus need not fear the results. The
| annual reports of the years work does
| not reveal the full truth of his work
! Only the one who can see the relation
| of the work of all His servants to the
| establishing of His kingdom can un-
| derstand anything of the value of the
| faithful men. whose work is unher-
| aided and unpraised by men. is to the
| living Lord. who will support him in
| all his needs. Jesus holds His minis
| ters in His right hand, indicating that
| He watches over, keeps and protects
| them in every trial, just He did
! John when He appeared to him and
| gave to the world and waiting church
f, the last sight of the Lord.
| The great message, that is the key to
| the epistle in the judgment of many,
| is frequently passed over by men to-
day. Yet in this period of trouble the
| hope of the world for permanent peace
| is the return in triumph of Jesus, as
| He went. in the clouds. The closer
| men live to the heart of the Lord the
more emphasis will they place upon the
| return of the Christ. which is the first
and the last. the Living One" and for
| whose coming they Will ever pray and
| look.