Chapter VIII: Watching the Horizon 235 (6)

It is plainly said that the beast represents the great civil or governmental power in its final stage, the shape it will be in at the end when these events occur.[161] The chief dominating political power of the world will have passed through a succession of changes, seven kingdoms successively following each other. At the end there will be a combination of some sort, with ten great subdivisions, and one great head over all.

But at the last, the civil power will discard the Church, and persecute it. The spirit of evil thus gets embodiment typically in the great Babylon power, then in the Church, and at the very last, in a coalition of civil powers heading up in a new Babylon.

Then follows announcement of the fall of Babylon. The city is regarded here as the earthly capital of the organized system of unseen evil spirit power at work in the world. The city and the system are inseparably allied. The name Babylon is used in the Bible for both system and city.

If the question be asked what city is meant here, there can be but one answer. From the twelfth of Genesis on the Bible never touches history, except as history touches Israel as a nation. A thoughtful review of the book makes this clear. And this book of Revelation is a gathering-up of Bible threads, and only these. There is only one city in the Bible record that answers to the description here, "the great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth." "Babylon _the_ great."

But the old Babylon lies in ruins. And its ruined condition has been quoted as the fulfilment of the famous passage in Isaiah xiii. 19-22. It should be carefully noted that the present conditions at the site of old Babylon do not seem to satisfy fully the language of that passage. It would seem to be another illustration of the rare use of language in the Bible, which adapts a passage accurately to one event, and then to a second event, a long time afterward.

This would, of course, involve the rebuilding of the old capital of the Euphrates. The reverent student quietly notes the movements taking place in that part of the world, but restrains mere curious speculation, as he continues fervently to pray, "Thy kingdom come."

This eighteenth chapter of Revelation seems like an echo of that intense twenty-first of Isaiah, and indeed of a strain sounding all through the prophetic books. One familiar with the old writings is not surprised to find this echo; he expects it. No echo of God's voice or purpose is ever lost. God never loses any of the threads out of His hand.

Hallelujah! He Comes.

_The seventh view_ presents the climax. It includes from chapter nineteen to chapter twenty-two, verse five. It presents in full the great scene that closes this tribulation period; touches the kingdom in a bare word so as to fit it into its place in the scheme of events being outlined; and then gives the final wind-up after the Kingdom time is over. We want to look now at the portion connected immediately with what has just gone before, the description of the wondrous close of the tribulation, in chapters nineteen, verse one, to twenty, verse three.

John hears a great outburst of worship and praise in heaven. It resembles the outburst back in chapter five, when the Lamb took the book. But it is seen to be yet greater than that. Its joy and delight seem wholly unbounded. Again the living creatures and the four and twenty elders lead the song that bursts out.

John tries to tell how great was the volume of adoring song that fills all heaven. It is like the voice of a great multitude, like the waters that he had heard many a time breaking in deafening roar on the rocky coast of Patmos, like the mighty thunders which he had heard so much in these visions.

And the song they sang explains the exuberance of their singing, "Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty _reigneth_." At last He _reigneth_. In the earlier parts of the book God is spoken of as "He who is and who was, and _who cometh_."[162] As later events are described that last part "who cometh" is significantly dropped.[163] Clearly at these points being described He has come. Now the great realization bursts out from countless voices, the Lord, our God, the Almighty _reigneth_!

And John is bidden to write the words whose refrain has filled such a place in hymns and devout speech, "Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And the one who seems to be serving as John's guide puts peculiar emphasis on all that is being revealed by saying, "these are true words of God."

John is so overwhelmed that he falls down to worship this one. And then he finds that this is one of his own redeemed brothers of the earth. And as He quietly bids John give his worship to One only, He adds very significant words: "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The whole genius and soul of all this wealth of prophecy is to point men to our Lord Jesus Christ, God to us.

And now comes the event toward which the ages have looked. _The heavens open._ And _our Lord Jesus appears_ coming in glory to earth. At last He comes. There's a wonderful description. He comes as a conqueror, riding forth to judge the earth righteously, and to make war on evil. His eyes are as a flame of fire, and upon His head many diadems. He has a name indicating that He is all alone in the experiences He has been through, and in His character. He comes as King of kings and Lord of lords, to rule all the earth with a new absolutism, to right all wrongs, and visit the indignant wrath of God upon all sin.

As He appears an angel gives warning of what is coming. In words that are an echo of Ezekiel's, long centuries before, he calls to all the scavenger birds of the earth that haunt battlefields to come to a great feasting time.[164] And John sees the vast armies of the nations of the earth all gathered together for a last mighty battle, under the leadership of the great leader of lawlessness and his lieutenant.

And the utter impotence of their struggle against God is revealed in the quietness and brevity with which their defeat and capture are told. Satan's great earth leader and his chief who deceived the people with his miraculous power, both are taken and forever put away. And then Satan himself is chained and fastened securely in the abyss. Such is the tremendous consummation quietly told in a few lines. And then follows the setting up of the glorious kingdom on earth.

Whatever the immediate circumstances under which the Second Psalm was penned, it will be readily seen how it fits into this situation at the end.

"Why do the nations tumultuously assemble, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah and against His Anointed, saying, 'Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us.'"

But their efforts seem so puny, and the result so one-sided, that

"He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision."

And we remember that, in these Revelation pages, it is always with the sword of His mouth that the Lord Jesus is said to fight, as we read on:

"Then will He _speak_ unto them in His wrath, And vex [or trouble] them in His sore displeasure; [saying] 'Yet I have set _my_ King Upon my holy hill of Zion.'"

Then the Son speaks:

"I will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, 'thou art my Son; This day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'"

And the writer of the Psalms closed with a word of earnest counsel to the kings of earth:

"Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling [awe], Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way, For His wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in Him."

Thus it is seen that these seven views describe (1) the general characteristics of the tribulation time; (2) the way in which it comes, that is, by the withdrawal of restraint and so the loosing of evil; (3) the faithful witness being borne throughout the period; (4) the great evil leader and the character of the persecution he wages; (5) the visitation of judgments upon earth with the great gathering of nations to battle against God; (6) the world system of evil; and (7) the coming of our Lord Jesus to judge evil and set up the kingdom.

Still He Waits.

It will at once be noted that these things group up, naturally and easily, under _three headings_. First, there is a terrible _persecution_ of God's people. This will end in a _visitation_ of _judgments_, including great plagues. There will be a gathering of the armies of all nations, and a great battle. It will end in a decisive defeat for them by the personal coming of the Lord Jesus, and will be accompanied by a terrific earthquake and an equally terrific shake-up of the heavenly bodies connected with the earth, sun, moon, and stars. Then comes the establishment of the _Kingdom of God_ upon earth. These three things stand dominantly out.

It comes as a surprise to one who has not been thinking especially about it, to find how these three things are the same three that stood out so prominently at the close of the study of future items in the old prophetic books. It is natural that it should be so, of course, since the Book of God is one in its essential unity.

But there is a great fascination in finding the parts to come together so simply and naturally. As we gather up the Old Testament pages these three things sift out and group together as distinctly not yet fulfilled, and so future. As we listen to our Lord Jesus talking, again these same three items are emphasized by Him. And now the same three are found here.

Dr. A. F. Schauffler tells of a striking experience he had in connection with his mission work in New York City. A letter came to him from a stranger in Germany. It said: "I know you are a city missionary. I am sending a trunk in your care. Inclosed in this letter you will find a piece of paper cut. A man will come and present to you a piece of paper matching this piece. Please give him the trunk." And enclosed in the letter was a piece of paper cut in zigzags.

Letter and paper were laid away to await developments. Some weeks later a stranger came in and presented a queerly cut piece of paper, saying: "I think you have a piece that matches this." Dr. Schauffler got out his piece of paper, laid the two side by side, found that they matched, and said to his visitor: "There's your trunk."

Even so these prophetic pages of the New Testament are found to fit exactly the pages of the Old, written centuries before. It is not surprising, however. One hand cut the paper into two pieces in Germany, and naturally they fitted when put together in New York. One Hand has guided the men writing in both Old and New.

When Jeremiah was first called to his work as God's messenger he was shown in vision the branch of an almond tree. The almond tree is the earliest of all trees to wake from its winter's sleep at the first hint of spring warmth coming. And so it was called the "watching" or "watcher" tree. Then God said to Jeremiah: "Even so, I eagerly watch over my word to bring it to life and fruitage at the very earliest opportunity."[165] And so the word of this watching God and its fulfilment match, regardless of the thing we call time, even running into centuries.

And it is very helpful for those of us who have had a sort of dread of prophecy as of a vague something that we can't understand, to find after all how simple it is. Just three great items stand out of these prophetic pages that are waiting fulfilment.

Such is the seven-fold view, which is taken up almost wholly with the clearing-up storm in the King's realm. But all this is still future. We are still in that waiting time. Our Lord Jesus still stands among the candlesticks. Still He is waiting for His Church to be faithful. He still waits for each of us who is a bit of His Church. He is depending on us to be faithful, by His grace, day by day, during this waiting time. And while He waits _all His limitless power is at our disposal_, as we follow His leading. We may take as much as we need. But the taking must be with the life.

A dear missionary friend told of a simple experience that meant much to him. We were walking together in the town in Korea where his mission work is. His school was the centre of the recent troublous times in Korea, and the storm seemed to rage about his own person at its outburst. As we talked all his native teachers and several of his older students were in prison. The experience he told me was of earlier days in this country, but had come back to his memory as a great refreshment during the troublous times.

He was a professor in a small college in our Middle West. Special funds were being raised, for extension. He was to ask a certain man of wealth for a large donation. He planned and prayed much, and at last went to see the man in another city by appointment. He had a keen sense of the responsibility of his task.

As he entered the building where the man's office was he was greeted cordially by a young man whom he remembered as a former student, to whom he had been friendly in some time of minor need. But he had not connected him in his mind with this wealthy man, whose son he was. Now as the former student learned of his professor friend's errand, he said with all the confidence of a son on good terms with his father:

"Come right in; father's here."

As they stepped into the man's office the son said, simply:

"Father, this is an old friend of mine. He's all right. Give him whatever he wants."

And the father, busy at his desk, with barely a look at the appointed visitor, reached one hand over for his checkbook, and simply said:

"How much do you want?"

My friend, taken completely by surprise at the unexpected turn of events, managed to name the large sum he had been thinking and praying over so much. And before he could quite recover from his surprise, he found himself outside walking up the street with the coveted check in his pocket, praising God for such an answer to his prayers. It had been years before, but as we walked and talked it all came back with a fresh flush of feeling.

The present is a waiting time. It may seem to some as though they are in the wilderness. Clear and distinct comes a quiet voice:

"What'll you have? Whatever you choose to ask, for My Son's sake."

May we reach out to take as much as He is reaching down to give. But the taking must be with the life.

FOOTNOTES:

[107] Isaiah xiii.-xxiv.

[108] Jeremiah xlvi.-li.

[109] Ezekiel xxv.-xxxii., xxxviii.-xxxix.

[110] Daniel, throughout, notably vii.-xii.

[111] The book of Isaiah falls naturally into two parts, chapters i.-xl., and xli.-lxvi. The historical allusions in each make it quite clear that these two parts belong in two periods far apart. One hundred and eighty years intervene between the close of the time stated in Isaiah's first chapter as the period of his ministry and the beginning of the return from exile into which the second part fits.

But the full inspiration of the second part is in no wise affected. This rarely Spirit-controlled man modestly or unconsciously withholds his name from his writings. And they are grouped by the old Hebrew compilers with those of Isaiah.

[112] Isaiah ii. 2-4.

[113] Isaiah xi. 1-9; xxxii. 1-6.

[114] Micah iv. 1-8.

[115] Isaiah xi. 11-16; xxvii. 12-13.

[116] Zechariah xii. 10-14.

[117] Jeremiah xxxi. 8-19, 33, 34.

[118] Isaiah xxvi. 19; Daniel xii. 2.

[119] Micah iv. 1-2.

[120] Isaiah xxv. 7

[121] Isaiah iv. 2-5.

[122] Isaiah xxiv. 1-13, 17-20; ii. 12-19; Micah vii. 15-17.

[123] Zechariah xii. 1-9; xiv. 1-2.

[124] Isaiah xiii. 1-13.

[125] Zechariah xiv. 1-8.

[126] Isaiah xxiv. 21-22; xxvii. 1.

[127] Jeremiah xxx. 7-8.

[128] Daniel xii. 1.

[129] Matthew xxiv.-xxv; Mark xiii; Luke xxi.

[130] Matthew xxiv. 21, 29.

[131] Mark xiii. 19.

[132] Revelation vii. 14 literally.

[133] Leviticus xxvi. 14-39.

[134] Deuteronomy xxviii. 15-68.

[135] Deuteronomy xxxii.

[136] Daniel iii.

[137] Chapters vi.-vii.

[138] Chapter xix.

[139] Isaiah ii. 10-22.

[140] II Corinthians i. 22; Ephesians i. 13; iv. 30.

[141] Isaiah ii. 2.

[142] Revelation xvii. 9-10.

[143] Jeremiah li. 25.

[144] Revelation viii. 10, see also ix. 1; Isaiah xiv. 12-15.

[145] In regard to Elijah, see Malachi iv. 5-6. John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, and of him our Lord said, "this is he who was to come."

Yet the events of judgment spoken of in Malachi did not take place when John the Baptist and Jesus came. The events spoken of prophetically in connection with His coming are divided into two groups, those of graciousness, finding fulfilment at the first coming, those of judgment followed by graciousness, at the second coming. So John the Baptist fulfils the Elijah part at the first of these two; in all probability Elijah himself at the second part, _i.e._, "before the great and _terrible_ day of Jehovah come."

In regard to Enoch, the passage in Jude, verse 14, is of significance. The language, "Enoch prophesied, ... the Lord _came_, etc.," is probably spoken in the sense, familiar in the Bible, of a future action seen as already done. Here Enoch is spoken of as prophesying or preaching, _not_ to the people before the Flood, but to a certain class of men belonging to Jude's generation, that is to the Church generation. The likeliest meaning of the words is that Enoch, the seventh and so on, _will_ prophesy, saying, "behold the Lord _cometh_," and so on to close of verse 15.

[146] Revelation xii. 1-6.

[147] Revelation xii. 7-17.

[148] Revelation xii.

[149] Revelation xiii.

[150] Chapter xiii. 9-10.

[151] Revelation xiv. 1-5.

[152] Revelation xiv. 6-20.

[153] Revelation xv.-xvi.

[154] Revelation xiv. 1-5.

[155] Revelation xi. 19.

[156] Psalm xi. 6; lx. 3; lxxv. 8; Job xxi. 20; Isaiah li. 17, 22, 23; Jeremiah xxv. 15-17; Ezekiel xxiii. 31-33; Habakkuk ii. 16; Zechariah xii. 2.

[157] Isaiah xi. 15-16.

[158] Revelation vi. 15-17.

[159] Revelation xi. 14.

[160] Chapters xvii. and xviii.

[161] Revelation xvii. 8-12.

[162] Revelation i. 4, 8; iv. 8.

[163] Revelation xi. 17; xvi. 5.

[164] Ezekiel xxxix. 17-20.

[165] Jeremiah i. 11-12.

VII.--THE CROWNED CHRIST REIGNING

(Revelation, Chapters xx: 4-xxii.)

"On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life,
bearing twelve fruits."

"A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Ferned grot--
The veriest school
Of peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not--
Not God! in gardens! when the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign;
'Tis very sure God walks in mine."

Day Is Coming.

It's a long lane that has no turning. Every valley leads up a hillside to a hilltop. Every storm ends in sunshine at the last. Every night runs out; the dawn _will_ break; the new day comes; the shadows flee before the new shining. The battle for right will end in victory, and in a decisive victory. There'll be no draw here. Faith wins at last. It's been a long night of fighting. Sometimes it seems endless.

The man in the thick of the fight, with moist brow, and clenched hand, and quick breath and throbbing heart, sometimes sobs out the prayer, "O Lord, how long before the night is over, and the dawn breaks?" And quietly through the smoke and din of the conflict a still, small voice says, "Steady, my child, steady; the day is surely coming, and with day victory; steady, steady a bit longer."

Now here in vision the fight is over, the victory won. And God's visions always become realities. The vision is yet for the appointed time, and it panteth breathlessly toward the realization, and will not fail nor delay. Though it tarry, wait for it; it will certainly come on time; it will not be late.[166]

In the seventh view the kingdom follows immediately that decisive conflict and the putting of Satan out of the way for the time being. The redeemed ones at once begin their blessed service of fellowship with the King in reigning over the kingdom. Emphasis is placed on the fact that at this time there has been a resurrection of believers. And these resurrected ones join with those caught up without death in administering the kingdom. This kingdom is said to last for a thousand years, that length of time being named only here, and here six times.

There is much talk in our day about the kingdom. All Christendom has been repeating for nineteen centuries the petition, "Thy kingdom come." It will be of intense and practical interest to see just what the kingdom is, as pictured in the Bible. It is barely mentioned in this place in Revelation, to fit it into its place in the scheme of future events being outlined.

But it is the chief theme in these old prophetic pages, around which all others group. Immediate historical events furnish the setting, but there is a continual swinging to the coming future greatness. The yellow glory-light of the coming kingdom is never out of the prophetic sky. Jeremiah is the one most absorbed in the boiling of the political pot of his own strenuous time, but even he, at times, lifts his head and gets such a glimpse of the coming kingdom as causes him to mix some rose tincture with the jet black ink he habitually uses.

The Kingdom Picture.

Let us look briefly at the kingdom picture of these older pages. Its capital is Jerusalem, which becomes the world capital. It will be the joy of the whole earth. Israel will be the first nation of the earth, to which all others will be tributary. But it will be not the Israel of these old pages, nor the Jew as he is known characteristically throughout history. Israel will be a new nation, made new in character by the power of the Holy Spirit. The winsome picture of the baptized crowds at Pentecost gives an inkling of the spirit that will sway the new nation.[167] They will be a nation of radiant faces and thrilled hearts.

The effect of this upon all other nations is marked. Through Israel's regeneration and new leadership, every other nation is to know a new spirit life. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Israel is to be followed by an outpouring upon _all_ flesh. Pentecost is merely a beginning of what is to be universal. There will be a widespread voluntary coming to Israel for religious instruction. She becomes the world's teacher until the knowledge of God covers the whole earth as the waters cover the sea. But all this will be purely a voluntary movement among the nations. There will be war no longer, but universal peace.

There's one part of the picture specially comforting. That vast majority, _the poor_, will be specially guarded and cared for. There will be no hungry people, nor cold, nor poorly clad; no unemployed begging for a chance to earn a dry crust, and no workers fighting for a fair share of the fruit of their toil. But there are yet tenderer touches on the canvas. Broken hearts will be healed, prison doors unhung, broken family circles complete again.

A recent issue of The Sunday School Times tells a simple, touching incident of a mission hall in Korea. A Korean woman living in the country heard of the wonderful things happening there, and came to town to find out for herself, and get some help. But she didn't know where the hall was, nor what name it was called. So she inquired on the streets for the place where they _cured the broken heart_. And at once she was directed to the mission hall. That sort of thing will become a blessed commonplace in the beginning of the kingdom time.

Then there are certain radical changes in _nature_. Splendid rivers of waters are to flow through or by Jerusalem, suggesting radical changes in the formation of the land there. That fortress city, on the hilltop, Jerusalem, becomes as the world's metropolis, a mighty city, with rivers floating a world's commerce. The light of sun and moon will be greatly intensified, so influencing the fertility of the earth. Before their healing light and heat, in the newly tempered atmosphere, all poisonous growths, the blight of drought, and suffering of untempered heat, will disappear.

And with this goes a change in the _animal_ creation. Hate will be gone. And so beasts that are dreaded because of their ferocity and treachery and poisonous power will be wholly changed. There will be mutual cessation of cruelty to animals by man, and of danger to man by animals, for all hate and violence will be gone.

And some one raises his eyebrows sceptically and says, ironically, "What fairy tale, what skipper's yarn, is this?" Well, I frankly confess that I don't know anything about this matter, except what I find in this old Book of God. But I confess, too, that I try studiously to get a common-sense, poised, Spirit-enlightened understanding of what this Book does tell. And then I accept it, and go by it, regardless of probabilities or improbabilities. It may seem like a fairy tale, yet it is only the picture of the coming kingdom soberly set forth in these old pages.

As we turn to the Gospel pages we find the kingdom to be the chief thing Jesus is talking about. The Gospel days are sample days of the kingdom in the personal blessings bestowed. Read through these accounts of blind eyes opened, the lame walking, the maimed made whole, the dumb singing, the distressed in whatever way relieved, the ignorant instructed, the sinful wooed, and the bad of heart and life being blessedly changed.

All this is a taste of the kingdom. Jesus was wooing men to accept King and kingdom. To-day, as in all Church time, bodily healing is a privilege for those who can take it, and a gift for the rare few who can be entrusted with it. In these Gospel pages it was freely bestowed on multitudes, and the gift exercised with power by many. Even so it will be in the kingdom time.

Most of the parables are found to be connected in their first meaning with explaining about the kingdom. The kingdom will follow the law of growth that is common in nature, sowing, waiting, cultivating, and reaping.[168] Its influence will spread gradually until all feel its presence and power.[169] It must meet and deal with the obstacles presented by different men's temperaments and dispositions and temptations.[170] There will be opposition, gradually overcome, but never fully.[171] Many will be carried along by the current of the day. It will be a good current, for righteousness will be the common thing then. But in their hearts many will long for something else, something different.[172]

But to many, the new blessed kingdom message will come as a treasure accidentally stumbled upon, not being looked for, but now valued as very precious.[173] To others it will come as _the_ thing they have been eagerly seeking for, and which satisfies the deepest yearnings.[174] One who has had any touch with the pathetic yearning of years found in non-Christian lands can better appreciate the results of this kind in these glad coming days.

The _characteristic spirit_ of the kingdom stands sharply out in contrast with the dominant spirit of our own time. The kingdom is said to belong peculiarly to those who are "poor in spirit," in whom self-assertion and pride have quite gone out, leaving them humble and lowly in heart. The meek will inherit the earth, and will take down all the walls and fences, for all conditions of life are radically changed. The penitent man or woman will be freely received regardless of their past, while the proud will find the doorway too low for their unbending heads.[175]

Rewards in the kingdom will not be given as a matter of merit, as in our present endless cutting and rivalry, but will be thought of wholly as evidence of the graciousness of the King.[176] And yet more striking, the rewards given will be the privilege of serving, some more, some less, according as they have become skilled in serving.[177] He who serves most truly will be given preferment.[178] The thing prized above all else will be glad obedience to the King.

It will be seen that the kingdom is to be a time of world-wide evangelization. Indeed this is _the purpose_ of the kingdom. There are two periods of world-wide evangelization in our Lord's planning. The present is the Church time of such evangelizing. This is, of course, the true main objective of the Church. This is the reason for the Church's existence, to take the message of a crucified risen Christ to all men, that so the way may be prepared for His return, and through that for the next period of evangelizing.

The kingdom period of world-wide evangelization is under radically different conditions. Then the evil one will be removed from the scene of action, the Holy Spirit will have been poured out upon all flesh, and so the moral veil now upon men's eyes will be removed. The Jews, with all their characteristic aggressiveness and perseverance, now intensified by the Holy Spirit's presence, will be a nation of missionaries to all the earth. The redeemed ones in their resurrection bodies will have the blessed privilege of helping. And over all will be the presence and supervision of the King, our Lord Jesus Himself. That will be world-wide evangelization in earnest.

Such is a faint glimpse given in both Old and New Testaments of the kingdom spoken of in these Revelation pages in such few words. Almost the whole Bible lies back of those few words. What a time it will be for this old earth! With renewed fervour our hearts repeat, "Thy kingdom come."

The Final Crisis of Choice.

But it is made clear at once to John that the kingdom is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end, a wonderful means to a blessed end. It is startling to find that after that long blessed reign the evil one is to be loosed out of his prison-abyss. This seems at first flush too startling to be credible. But on reflection the reason becomes plain, and reveals the strength as well as the tenderness of God's love.

All through the kingdom time there are those who are in heart opposed to this new order of things. They long for the leeks and onions and garlic of the old eating. There will be some yielding only a feigned allegiance to the King.[179] That dragnet of the parable has gathered some fish that didn't want to be caught, and want a chance to get away to their own native waters again.[180] The tares of another parable are left in with the wheat until the end reveals which is real wheat and which really tares.[181]

The one thing God longs for is love. And that only is love which is the free outpouring of the heart. He longs for love as our free choice. This is the image of God in which we have all been made. We are most like God in _power_, in the right of free choice. We are most like Him in _character_ when we use our power as He uses His; when we choose what He chooses for us. And so there must be a final time of sifting and choosing.

Here is the strength of love, that dares loose Satan out that so we must choose in the face of opposition. For faith isn't faith except it can stand the fire test, the friction fire test of opposition. Here is the tenderness of love, that longs to have a return love as pure and free as its own, and so gives fullest opportunity for it to be revealed and to grow.

So Satan is loosed out for his tempting work. And another great world crisis comes, and another great settlement; this the final one. The devil, his beastly Antichrist and false prophet, are put out of the way forever.

A great dazzling throne is set. And One sits on it with a face of indescribable glory. Then comes the second resurrection, of all those not included in the first resurrection a thousand years before. This is a judgment of _all who have died_, with the exception already noted. The judgment of the living spoken of in Matthew, twenty-five, probably is in connection with the closing scene of the great crisis, just before this judgment of the resurrected dead, or possibly in connection with this judgment. This is the final judgment.

Gladness and distress mingle in reading the account: gladness that the contest, age long, is over; distress to find that for some there is what is described briefly but with terrible intensity, in the words, "the lake of fire." Yet there is still comfort in noting the language used of these,--"_if any_."[182] It is not the language of a great multitude, but rather of an incorrigible scattered and scant minority.

Home at Last.

And now for the seventh time in this last vision John says, "I saw." Bit by bit the view opens up before his eyes, from the coming of the Lord Jesus out of the opened heavens, on and on, until now the final view of all bursts in a winsome glory before his astonished, delighted eyes.

God's own ideal, that He has been carrying in His heart, is pictured. That ideal is that He and man shall dwell together as a family. The ideal is not a Church nor a Kingdom. These are merely great means to a greater end. The ideal is the family, all dwelling together in sweetest harmony and content, with a common board, and a common fireside in the twilight of the day, and all the sweet fellowship that these stand for.

John sees a new heaven and a new earth, the old heaven and earth gone, and with them the separation of the wide sea gone forever, too. He sees the holy city, Jerusalem, made over new, coming down out of the new heavens to man's new dwelling-place, the new earth. It presents a wondrous, joyous appearance as of a bride adorned for her husband.

Then a great voice out of the throne speaks of this ideal in the heart of God for Himself and His friend, man. "Look! God has pitched His tent down amongst men, and they shall be His peoples, and He will be their God." He will live with them as a Father-mother-God, personally caring for each one, Himself wiping away every tear from every eye. A single tear and a single pair of eyes will be enough to claim His personal attention at once.

His presence insures the absence forever of death, and mourning, and pain, and crying. The dirge music has sung its last song. The minor chords are gone. All the old things of a sorrowful sort are quite gone. And as John looks He that sitteth on the throne makes the glad announcement, "_Behold, I make all things new._" And John is bidden to write all this, for "_these words are faithful and true_."

And again the One on the throne seems to look eagerly forward to His ideal as already actually accomplished: "They are come to pass." And to let John feel the certainty of it all He says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." The power that has done all from creation's morn will complete all clear to the end.

And then the tenderness of that highest love which finds expression in the personal touch comes out in the next words: "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of life freely." The smallest need of any one will have His personal thought and attention, and they shall have the best there is, and have it in abundance.

And the old pleading that runs like a strain of music throughout these pages comes again: "He that _overcometh_ shall inherit these things. I will be His God, and he shall be my son," and so entitled to the inheritance.

Then plainly, clearly, with all the honesty of love, comes the warning of the terrible outcome for those who refuse His tender love. It is most significant that this most winsome picture at the end of the book contains the dark, black shadows, which remain in the picture at the end.

All this is spoken directly to John by God Himself. It is not sent by an angel, or by a redeemed human messenger. It comes to John direct with all the force and tenderness of a word spoken to him out of the very heart of God.

And now an angel carries John off to let him see this that is called both a bride and a city. And from the top of a high mountain John looks out and sees a most wonderful city, coming down out of heaven from God, filled and flooded with the glory of God.

And the best language that earth knows anything about is used in the attempt to describe this city ideal. Its dimensions are perfect in proportion and in their outer relations. Its foundations are adorned with the costliest, most precious stones, the walls are built of jasper, and each gate is one immense pearl; but the city itself is builded of a gold as transparent as pure glass. Israel and the Church are as sweet memories of past days, recalled now by gates and foundations.

But these are passed by in noting the outshining glory of the presence of God. In the simple language which has become so imbedded in the heart and imagination of the Church, "the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine on it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." And the winsome description goes on. The nations walk in this wondrous light of God's presence, and the kings of earth bring glad tribute of their glory into it. "And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day, for there shall be no night there." "And there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that doeth an abomination and a lie, but only they that are written in the Lamb's book of life."

In the midst of the city is a river of water of life clear as sparkling crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. On each side of the river is the tree of life yielding continual fruitage. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And the heart never fails to respond with a quickened beat to the lines: "His servants shall serve Him; and _they shall see His face_; and His name shall be in their foreheads;"--that is, His character shall shine out of their faces. "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light. And they shall reign forever and ever."

Such is the heart-touching, heart-gripping tale of God's ideal for man, His creature and companion and friend. All the best that the city stands for of human life, and all the best that the country, typified in the garden, stands for, are forever blessedly joined. And in the midst--_Himself_, and gathered about Him His redeemed ones, as children about a father, in a union and fellowship cemented by the heart's blood of God, never more to be put asunder.

The Master's Last Words.

And John closes the book with a few personal paragraphs. The vision is complete. Now come the closing words. For the third time John is solemnly assured, "these words are faithful and true." And again comes the voice as of some One always standing by as John is being shown, "Behold, I come quickly." And again the words with which the book begins come to seal all its impressions,--blessed is he that reads, and prayerfully seeks to understand the simple message, and who sets himself to live his life in the light of this simple tremendous message.

And John is significantly told _not_ to _seal up_ the message. Daniel had been told to seal up the message given him, for it would not come to pass until the latter days after great intervening events had taken place.[183] But there are no intervening events before this message is to come true. It has been possible for the fulfilment to come in any generation since John saw and wrote. It is yet more possible, growing distinctly toward the probable, that these things shall come in our generation. The words remain open, waiting an expectant fulfilment. They are not to be sealed up but openly proclaimed, for the time when it is possible for these things to work out is at hand. This is a present practical issue.

And meanwhile, during these days of the waiting time each one who reads or listens, however reluctantly, to the message, will follow the bent of his own deliberate choice, but with ever increasing intensity. The pure will become more pure; the bad yet worse. There's no standing still as we listen.

And again come the solemnly repeated words: "Behold, I come quickly." His coming is the next step in the great plan. There were then, and there are now, no great intervening events to be worked out, and waited for. His coming is imminent. It is a thing to be expected. And He brings with Him the wages due each one.

And like the signature of certification at the book's beginning,[184] comes now the personal signature at its close: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." So He personally certifies to us the absolute accuracy and reliability of this message.

And with the signature come again the gracious pleading and warning intermingled. Any one who will may wash his robes in the fountain provided, and may eat of the life-giving tree, and come unto the God-lit city. And equally clear it is that any who insist on doing so may remain outside unwashed. Each one is free to do as he wills.

And once again comes the emphatic, solemn announcement of the accuracy and dependability of this message of John's Revelation: "_I, Jesus_, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things for the Churches." It is distinctively a Church message, and comes with all the direct authority of our Lord Jesus Himself. And He patiently reminds us of His authority,--I am both root and offspring of David, both before him and after him. I am the bright, the morning star, that rises while it is yet night and brings in the new day.

And again the spirit of winsome pleading breaks out to those unwashed ones who insist on staying outside the gate. Both the Spirit and the whole company of washed ones say "come." And let him that heareth that sweet word pass it out to those farther away until the last man hears and feels. And let them know that anybody at all who is thirsty may come freely and drink of the river of the water of life.

And yet once again comes the peculiar certifying of the contents of this Revelation message, and a solemn warning against any interfering with its meaning. Jesus says,--I hereby certify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any man add to them, making them mean something else than I intend, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away, or lessen the meaning, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city. It comes as a very solemn warning.

And yet once more comes the emphatic assurance both of the reliability of the book itself, and of the certainty of its great central message,--"He who testifieth these things saith, '_yea, I come quickly_.'"

And John fervently adds, "Amen; come, Lord Jesus." And so says every heart in tune with His heart who is coming.

FOOTNOTES:

[166] Habakkuk ii. 3.

[167] Acts ii. 44-47; iv. 32-34.

[168] Mark iv. 26-29. Matthew xiii. 31-32.

[169] Matthew xiii. 33.

[170] Matthew xiii. 3-9, 18-23.

[171] Matthew xiii. 24-30.

[172] Matthew xiii. 47-50.

[173] Matthew xiii. 44.

[174] Matthew xiii. 45-46.

[175] Matthew xxi. 31.

[176] Matthew xx. 1-16.

[177] Luke xix. 11-27.

[178] Matthew xx. 25-28.

[179] Psalm xviii. 44; lxvi. 3; lxxxi. 15; note marginal readings.

[180] Matthew xiii. 47-50.

[181] Matthew xiii. 24-30, 36-43.

[182] Revelation xx. 15.

[183] Daniel xii. 4, 9.

[184] Revelation i. 8.

VIII.--WATCHING THE HORIZON

"Thy Kingdom Come."

"Thou art coming! We are waiting With a hope that cannot fail; Asking not the day or hour, Resting on Thy word of power, Anchored safe within the veil. Time appointed may be long, But the vision must be sure: Certainty shall make us strong, Joyful patience must endure.

"O the joy to see Thee reigning, Thee, my own beloved Lord! Every tongue Thy name confessing, Worship, honour, glory, blessing, Brought to Thee with glad accord! Thee, my Master and my Friend, Vindicated and enthroned! Unto earth's remotest end Glorified, adored, and owned."

--FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.

The Thrill of Expectancy.

Watching reveals character and makes it. It means wakefulness, an ideal, a purpose, and a hopeful expectancy. Some people only look. Their eyelids are not shut. Something passes before the eye. They look, but they rarely see.

It takes a soul to see. It needs a spirit awake to see out through the eye, and see into persons and events passing by, and see forward to what is coming to-morrow. Some sleep. The body is awake in daytime. They walk and talk and eat, buy and sell, count money and hoard it. But their eyes are never lifted to the outer horizon. They are settled in an even, contented round. Their spirits sleep.

A wakefulness of spirit to the time and its need, an ideal clear and high of what should be, a purpose strong and masterful that holds the life up toward the ideal, an expectancy eager, brave, steady; an eye fixed intently on some One unseen,--this is what watching means. It reveals character. It makes character. It reaches out strong spirit hands, and brings nearer and sooner the thing watched for.

Watching has always been a characteristic of the men God has used. He used them because He could. They were of use. Their spirit made them serviceable. Their watching opened the way for fellowship of spirit and partnership in action. It put them in tune with Him who never slumbers nor sleeps, and who watches over His pledged word, to bring it to pass at the earliest possible hour.

The watcher sings. His favourite song is "I will lift up mine eyes." He sees what is coming. He sees _Him_ who sits beyond the horizon of our common outlook. And seeing Him grows this sort of expectancy, and the expectancy becomes the controlling thing.

It was this sort of expectancy that made Abraham a pilgrim at seventy-five, and that grew deep the pilgrim trait of patient endurance through the weary twilight years till the promised heir came, and even beyond that, wove the finest texture into his character when the severest test came.

It was this expectancy that drew Moses away from the court life of Egypt, and the possible prospect of wearing imperial purple, to become the leader of a straggling crowd of slaves. And it held him steady on through long years, wilderness travel, criticism, and non-appreciation, on and on, till Nebo's top was climbed. He endured as seeing Him who was invisible to the unseeing eyes of the crowds at His side.

Such expectancy has steadied every leader for God, in these old pages from first to last, young Joseph in the dungeon, Joshua in the glare of the limelight, into which he was suddenly thrust, and ruddy-faced singing David fleeing and hiding for his life from the javelin of Saul. It was the clear-seeing eye of Isaiah and Jeremiah in the homeland, and of Ezekiel and Daniel among the weeping exiles, that kept the heart of the nation warm with the vision of what was surely coming. The thrill of expectancy runs through the pages of this old Hebrew classic. Its light is never out of the eye, nor its alluring out of earshot.

When Jesus walked among men expectation ran high. When He was killed the gloom of the three days was the gloom of a bright light suddenly put out. The darkness was intensified by the light that had been shining. Then there came a new sort of expectancy, higher, finer, of the inner spirit. This Jesus was coming back, in all the glory of the old prophetic vision, made realer by the personal touch these men knew, and this new expectancy puts all the paper of the New Testament a-tremble with delight. It is the light that lighteth every page and epistle, every contested path of witness, and every hour of suffering because of faith.

The Church of these New Testament pages is _a watching Church_. The expectancy of the Lord Jesus' return is the north star of their sky. It never swerves. All the rest revolves around it. They see everything else in relation to this. Their going into all the world and preaching to every creature was not simply for men's conversion: that surely: but beyond that, it was to bring the Christ back for the next step in His world programme. He would come and set up His kingdom, and then through the kingdom would come a yet wider, farther-reaching world evangelizing.[185] This expectancy controlled their life and activity. Through their faithful world witnessing He would come.

And as the knot is put on the end of the thread of revelation the very knotted thread seems aglow with the glory of what is coming. The Bible from end to end is a-thrill with expectancy, a hopeful watching for something, aye, _for some One_.

A Calendar of Events.

We have been looking a bit closely at this knot in the end, the threads composing it. Now we want to gather up all that we have been going over with the light that comes from the other pages, so as to have some sort of a simple, clear grasp of the truth. This will help our eyesight. We can watch the horizon better. Our eyes will be steadier in the glare of the lower lights, and sharper to see in the spells of darkness that get thicker now and then.

It is interesting to notice that this book of the Revelation is a calendar book. That is to say, it is not a calendar of dates but of events. It gives coming events in the order in which they will occur. Its table of contents becomes an outline of coming events. There is the Man of Fire standing among the candlesticks. Then comes an hour when He advances to the next step in His programme. Then, step by step, there follow the occurrences until the kingdom is actually here. And then the after events, when the kingdom's work is done.