river the tree of life, from which man had been excluded after his fall in the First Paradise, and which bare twelve manner of fruits, a fruit for every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. The promise is made that there shall be no more curse, but that the throne of God and the Lamb shall be there, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see his face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there, nor candle, nor light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. Here the angel declares to St. John, These sayings are faithful and true: And the Lord God of the holy prophets has sent his angel to show unto His servants the things which must shortly come to pass. Behold, says our Saviour, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of this prophetic book. "And I, John, saw these things and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the saying of this book. Worship God." A second time did St. John, (overcome by the heavenly visions, which had been presented to him), fall down to worship, and a second time did he receive a reprimand from the angel for such improper adoration. It were well if the antichristian Church would lay this rebuke to heart, and repent of its unlawful worshipping of angels, and of its numerous idolatries, before it incurs the just vengeance of the Almighty. "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy let him be holy still." Here the angel declares that this is to be an open revelation. revelation. St. John is ordered not to seal it; and with the awful warnings thus clearly laid before them, those who choose to be wicked must remain so, and those who are already righteous and holy are exhorted to continue so. "And behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Here Jesus Christ himself speaks to us, and declares he will come quickly, and his reward is with him, to give to every man according to his works. What stronger proof can we have, that a reward is destined for all men, and that it will be given in correspondence with their works? He then describes himself, as he had done in the eighth verse of the first chapter, as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loveth or maketh a lie." Can any thing be more directly opposed to the system of Calvinism, than the promise contained in this blessing? Here is a benediction pronounced on all those who do the commandments of God, giving them a right to the tree of life, and an entrance into the gates of the New Jerusalem, without the slightest allusion to any previous decree of admittance. Those who are excluded are the wicked of all descriptions, and particularly idolaters, and those who love and make a lie. "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the Churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star." Here, again, our blessed Saviour speaks in his own person. And, as it is asserted in the opening chapter, that God gave unto his Son this Revelation, which he sent and signified by his angel to his servant John; so here he declares, as one of the Persons in the Triune God, that he had sent his angel to communicate these things through his beloved disciple to the Churches, and in his character of God-man he announces that he is at once the root and offspring of David, and the harbinger of light and immortality, that lighteth every man which cometh into the world. "And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth, say, Come. And let him that is athirst, Come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." The Spirit and the Bride, which is the newlyconverted Jewish Church, at length united to her Lord and Saviour, as her husband, both cry, Come. And let him that heareth the cry, reecho, Come. And let him that is athirst for the grace and mercy of his Redeemer, come; and, if he will, take freely of the water of life. "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely, I come quickly. Amen. 224 THE INTERPRETATION OF THE APOCALYPSE. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Our blessed Redeemer here bears testimony to the curses denounced against the hearers of the foregoing Revelation, if they shall dare to add any thing to the words of this prophecy; or, on the other hand, if they shall dare to mutilate, or detract any thing from it. And he that testifieth these things saith, "Surely, (or Verily) I come quickly." Amen. To which the beloved disciple answers-(and so let every true disciple of his blessed Lord answer with him),-" Even Come, Lord Jesus!" So. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen." THE END. GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, |