Ve~s. 18-29'.....::,'n~ti~a', victors /or (Jh7'ist' reigning with him; .In sc.oe· ~espeott ' .., . , 1 C1f.·Gr~'B 'Ifigh Alps of New Zealand; PP· 2, s> . .·, . · ~H. d. 1-29.J THE 'Rllti:LATIDN OIi' ST'. JOHN THE DIVINE. : t'5
· this letter la '1ery sitnllar to the last. ·ln one respect it is uniqu~. Its'. einiilarif.f ari&e11 from the· fa.et that in Thyatira, as in Pergamos, there was much that was e~c~llent clogged with much t_hat was impure; that th? Saviour stood before the' Chu~b' 'as' a heart-searching SaVIour; that unless _the evil were put away the Church wo~d, b_<i severely judged, as a lesson and warnmg to the Churches round. abo\it; that the'fml ones themselves would be visited with tribulation and with death; that thl) 01'.lly 1:lurden which the Lord would put on the Church was that it should put awp,y the'evil and bold fast the good " until he come." The feature in this ~pistle which is absolutely unique is the remarkable pJOmise which is given to "him that overcometh "_,_:a promise, verbally at least, unlike any other in the New T!lstament, and one whfoh has given rise to some interpretations which are tdtally repulsive to Christian feeling, and a.lien irotn the spfrit of the W otd. And we confess that it would not surprise us if some 9fui1tia.n should say, "Either I do not underl!tand this promise, or else its fulfilment would be littlejoy to me; to promise me that I shoul.d 'rule the nations with a rod of. iron,' is to promise me something from which I altogether shrink. l have no wish to 1:>reak people into shivers." We are the more anxious, therefore, to clear up this part of 1i}le epistle (the only intricate one), since some, of coarser mould than others, have gatlieted therefrom that it would be the 1work of the righteous, in the millennium, to go abqt~t, sword 'in .hand, slaying the wicked I One hopes it is not irreverent to·say, we trust otli:er work will be ours. We should l,;se the spirit of the promise i'n the letter if W'e were to put any such Interpretation thereon; we should be guilty of neglecting to compare Scripture with Scripture. Undoubtedly, Christ promises to the victor vower·Prer the nations. Whether or no it would be a blessing for us to have it must depen,d'pii.. what the powet, or authority, is. 'There is the power of the sword as. wielded. by the wamo.r; the pow~i- of the sceptre in;'the hands ?f Q king; the pow?r of t~e 'stafhs borni\bi:a shepoord ·; and the power @>f the truth m the mouth of a fa1thfutwitness; · +o ascerta,in which kind of power. is here intended, we must advance slowly and thoughtfully; an.'d in harmony witk the whole Word of God. For to attempt to interpret the words ~s if they ~tood absolutely 'alone, and out of appropriate relation to the entire ·rev11&led plan of God; would be f0olish and even reckless. . . l. THE LoBDJESUS O1IRIST J'IAS BE0EIVED l'ROM HIS FATHER POWER (1!0110-la) OTim THE NATlONB, Since the promise is" to him will I give •.• a:s I also Lave receiv.ed.of my Father,1' it is all-important, for the elucidation of the promise, that we. sbould''ii,ee what this authority is 1 wbioh Christ has received. We are told in the folldwijig passages: Jo.hn: xvii. 2 ;'. Ps. ii. 7-10; cxxxii. 11; 2 Sam. vii. 11, 12; Isa. ix. '6;7; Jer. xxiii. 5; Acts ii. 29-36; v. 81; 2 Pet. iii. 22; l Cor. xv. 25, etc. We Jriuat allow no such falsification of Scripture as is involved in the affirmation that t.he klng- dom of Christ is not yet in being. For the word .rA.,,!/>a (ver. 27) is decisive against that. The kingdom of Christ has, indeed, varied stages of development. There is,the present state 6f things1 during ·which our Lord is subduing evil by the Word of ,his grace and the Spirit of 1 his power. 'l'he next stage of it will be reached when'" he liath put all enemies under his feet." The final development of it (so far as revealed to us) will be in the heavenly state. There is, howwer, one special method of Christ's ruling which is here specified. In ver. 27, -zro,µa.vei alrroos ,,, pa./3iirp ,,.,l;11pf; but· in Ps. ii. 9 the 88.me verb is used (LXX.), and is translated "bre!l'k "--'-'lr01µa.v£1r iib-riws lv ~#33'f' tr,&,,p,i. Again, in Micah vii. 14 it is also used, and .is there translated "feed,"- wol,.,.,v~ J,.a6v <Tov Iv pa./3~'1' O"ov. So 'Micah v. 4, Kai 11:0,µ.avli -i-b wolµv,ov airrov 111 tax{,;; Kvplos. Thus the same word is rendered "break," "tend" "feed," "rule." The fact is that the Lord is regarded as a Shepherd of the flock. The shepherd's care is to " tend" the flock ; in doing this he feeds and leads the sheep, and breaks the power that would ravage among them; This is precisely the case with the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd and Bishop of souls. 1 He feed~, leads, and rules hil' own, and breaks the opposers' power. He will rule in judgment; « he will not fail nor be discouraged till he: bath brought forth judgment unto victory." His Word is the " rod of his strengtll. ; " his Spirit is the breath of his power. . • ' ' · , . · ·' · '~ II. THE LORD JESUS AND BIS PEOPLE ARE UNITED IN A CLOSE FELLOWSHIP o:r!t,fi AND OF VIOTOBY. Even no'l'i· they are planted together, crucified together, dead, buried, risen, sitting, living together; and they are destined hereafter to be glorified together. Thev are one with him in heart, lite, and suffering; they will be united with him in 76 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [oH, IL 1-29.