Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1916-12-15
INTERNATIONAL
SUNlGYSQlOOL
LESSON
(By u. o. 8EL.LEFS, Acting Director II
the Sunday School Course In the Moody
Bible Insticape Of Chicago)
Copyright. 1896. Western Newspaper Un,cn.)
LESSON FOR DECEMBER "
THE HOLY CITY.


nacle of God is with men. and he shall
dwell with them. and they shall be his
people.-Rev. 21:3.
AS we approach the end of the year,
our minds turn from the imperial city,
where last we have any euthentic rec
ord of Paul, to the eternal city In
which he has so long resided In les
resurrection glory, the source of all
power, King of Kings and Ford of
Lords for the redemption of the hui
man race. In Lesson 1t we. studied
the glorifed Christ who Is actually
working through his churches Is the
representatives Of his kingdom upon
earth. The succeeding chapters de-
scribe In symbols and pictures the dis
cipline ana trimming of Gods people,
during the long generations tfiut fol-
lowed. In the lesson for today we.
have vision of the final triumph of
Christianity when it shall have ac-
complished its work of redemption I'M
this world.
!. The New Heaven and the New Earth,
wv. I'D. John in vision saw the con.
summation of the work OF Christian
fty. the visible answer to the prayer
which Jesus Christ taught his Disciples
TO pray, "thy kingdom come, thy will
be done on earth as In heaven"
Heaven, as well as earth, has been i'm
vaded and polluted by sin, but both
alike are to be made new. q Peter 3: 10,
IL, 49,. The true Jerusalem, of which.
Solomon's was but type, is of heav--
emily and divine origin. 1t comes down,
out of heaven from God. We know
nothing of the inhabitants of the uni
verse OF which we are part, but here
we have some scriptural indication of
that place where Gods children are to
be with him eternally. The kingdom
of God is among you, but 1t is even
tuaTly to be with God and Jesus In a
peculiar and beautiful way. Johns
announcement came from out of heav-
en- and out Of the throne. ~ It
was q tabernacle of God with men;
rnther he shall tabernacle with men.
He is to pitch his tent among us John
1:14 r. v. marg.) It is to be done
eventually and permanently. This
dwelling of God among us lies at the
foundation of the blessedness and g,o-
ries which are to follow. (2) They
shall be his people. Israel had been
his people; oil nations are to be his
people in the fullest sense. (3) God
himself shall be with them, not only
his tabernacle but he, himself visibly,
personally. (4) He shall be their God,
acknowledged In all HIS infinite claims,
and he to them all that God is Of love,
power, wisdom, holiness and glory.
(5) He shall wipe away every tear
from their eyes. There will not be a.
single grief or heartache, unsatisf1edi
longing or tear, for God shall wipe
them away, and they will stay wiped
away. (6) Death shall be no, more.
OF all the enemies, death is the last
one which shall be taken from the.
earth. 1t is sweet to know that this
last enemy Is to be conquered. CD
There shall be no mourning, crying. or
pain any more. Every sorrow, agony,
remorse, gloom, disappointment gone,
forever; death, tears, mourning all
passed away. 1t is hard for us to COM.
prehend the majesty and sweep, of this
great and glorious promise. (See. I
Cor. 15).
II. The Coming Light and Glory (vv.
22-27). The intervening verses are a
wonderful description of the founda-
ton walls and gates of the city. There
will be no temple in that city for it will
not be needed. Instead of the temple
which stands for the temple of earth
there is to be the presence of God.
himself, but the lamb is also In tho
midst of it. Nothing can more force
fully impress upon us the deity and pre-
eminence Of Jesus Christ, the atouing
lamb, slain before the foundation Of
the world. This city Is to be city Of
light and glory. It will not be IN IL
Elimination by gas nor electricity, for
the glory of the Lord shall tighten 1t.
Summary. What are the lessons for
our day from this vision Of the new
heaven and the new earthf First:
That the golden age of the Bible has
not yet taken place There are better
times to come than anything the world
has yet seen. Second: We have here
the positive assurance Of the success
Of our leader and the victory of Chris
tianity In its conflict with evil. Third:
The golden ideal of heaven Is the
means by which we can test our daily
lives and the whole course of our con.
duct. The question we should con-
stantly ask is. "Are we going to this
heavenly idealY Fourth: The gates
Of that city are open; an angel 10 at
each gate. and shall keep out all evil.
God desires that al men everywhere
should repent. and Is not willing that
any should perish
When the Anal assize shall have
passed, no one win say that God did
not give him q chance nor seek to in
spire him to place Of eternal Joy ~
his right hand
Again there Ia to be federation a