The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 88

ohatige in the spirit and purpollll of life. (3) To reproduce. "Do the first works." Go over thy past life, reproduce thy old feeling, and reattempt old effort. This. can.,be done; we can relive our lives, the best as well as the worst portion of them. (4) 'To tremble. "Or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlesti\lk out of its place." "Terrible warning this I Let declension go on, and ruin is inevitable. This is true with individuals as well as with communities. lo. losing the candlestick, what a loss! The loss is midnight" (Caleb Morris). ; IIL THosE WBJOB CONCERN TBE DIVINE SPIRIT. "He that bath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of (led." 'l'wo things are here implied. 1. That the Divt'ne Spirit makes communication ta all the Ohwrches. He speaks ·through material nature, through our spiritual constitution, through human history, through Jesus Christ. "God, who at sundry times and in· divers manners spake in time wist unto the fathers by the prophets, bath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. Blessed thought I The Divine is in communication with the hurµan, and has constant and special communication with the Churches. Christ, the Incarna- tion and the :Minister of the Spirit, hath said, "Lo, I am with you alway,, even unto the end of the world." The Spirit'a words, as of old, bring life, order, light, and beauty out of chaos. 2. That proper attention to these communication, requires a certain ear. "He that hath an ear." What is the ear? Not the mere ear of sense, nor the mere ear of intellect; it is the ear of the heart, the ear of sympathetic love, It is said that Christ opened the "ears of his disciples, that they might understand the Scriptures." The moral ear and eye of man are closed against the manifesta- tion and voice of God. "The natural man discerneth not the things of the Spirit." Unlei!s a man has the sentiment of melody in him, you may peal into his ear t)le mol!t magnificent strains of music, and he feels no inspiration. Nothing comes te him but sound. .A.she who lacks an inward sympathy with the loftiest class of thoughts can listen unmoved to the grandest utterances of Plato, Milton, or Shakespeare; so he who lacks the ear of spiritual aympathy will be utterly unaffected by the communications which the Spirit makes to the Churches. "He that hath ears to hear "-it does not matter who he is, rich or poor, rude or cultured-"•let him hear." . IV. 'l'HosE WHICH CONCERN MORAL CONQUERORS. "To him that overcometb will! give [to him will I give] to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God [in the Paradise of God]." Observe: 1. Life is a battk. Enemies abound within and without. Spiritual excellence can only be reached by struggling, strenuous and unremitting. 2. Life is a battle ·that might be won. "Him that overcometh." Thousands upon thousands have won the battle !'nd shouted, " Victory I" at the close. 3. The winning of the battle is glorious. "I will give to eat of the tree of life, which i1 in the midst of the Paradise of God." "The reference to conquering is a prominent feature of St. John's other writings; The word, used but once in the other three Gospels (Luke xi. 22), and but once by St. Paul (Rom. xii. 21), is found in John xvi. 33; 1 John ii. 131 14; v. 4, 5; and occurs in all these epistles to the Churches. The promise of the tree of life is appropriate: (1) To the vii,-tue commended. Those who had not indulged in the licence of Nicolaitanes shall eat of the tree of life. (2) To.the special weakness of the Ephesians. To those who had fallen, and lost the Paradise of first loving communion and fellowship with God (comp. Gen. iii. 8; 1 John i. 3), is 'held out the promise of a restored Paradise and participation in the tree of life (comp. eh. xxii. 2-14; Gen. ill. 22). This boon of immortality is the gift of Christ: 'I will give.' It is tasted in knowledie of God and of his Son (John xvii. 3); it is enjoyed in their presence (eh. xxii. 3, 4)- (Bishop Boyd Carpenter).-D. T. Vers. 8-11.-The words of Ohrist to the congregation at Smyrna. " And unto the 1tngel of the Church in Smyrna," etc. This letter is addressed to the Church at Smyrna. "Smyrna is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, so that we have no means of ascer- taining when, and by whom, the Christian faith was first planted there. We may, however, conjecture that that great commercial city did not escape attention either by St. Paul or his associates in missionary effort during his three years' stay at Ephesus. :smyrna stands at the head of one of the finest bays in the world, and from its central position, its easy access, and excellent harbour, it !)ommauds the oom)D!ll'C6 of the Levant. REVELATION. B  ~ T.EIB ':REVELATION OF ST. JOHN' THE DIVINE. [CR. n. 1-29J ,. ~1 - . ' It is :the ohief city of Ionia, and is situate about fotty miles north of Ephe8U11. •n v{ajr anci'eht city, and was one of the se-ven that claimed t.o be ~e birthplace of Hmner.; w:•• 11.nd ·.\t i,s considered that its clai~ in this respect was better •fowuied. than, tbai of IJJJ.f 0£ the ·other'&ities which oontended for· the .honour. It was subject. to various-. 'fi.ciil- situde~ both' p}i.ysicaily and politi.cally. It wail overthTown by ea.rthquakE)jJ, ~ged. by conflagrations, laid waste by invasion, , and held in turn; by 1EoliaJ1111. lop.ill,p.s; Lydians, ~nd Macedouians. In A.D. 177 it was destroyed by&i earthq1111ke; but re}>uilt by Marcus Au;relius, with more than its former: splendour, . It is. now ,one-of tne llJ.J)Bt flourishing of the cities.of Asia Minor, and, indeed, the most important. , Its tion amounts. to.140,000, ot whom there are'20;000 Ckeeks, 8000 Armenia.us~ 11,bo11t po,- ·2000 Europeau,s, and 7Q0O J11ws. Theta are more Christians in Sm:YI'll.a than_:in any btlfo~ Turkii!hi•city jn the world,; and it is therefore peouliarly,unclean in th<1 eyes of t_he strict Mdsle'm~, who call it Gisour'lzniir, or Infidel Smyrna. ··lWigious to~eration h'as .al~a;ra been 'Iri.ore. fully pern:µtted in Smyrna than in ,a.ny,other cities; ~uder ?loha.ni.µ'iedan. control, and ·rarely·has' 'furaish fanaticism: been. directed -~just; E;uro- pe~s;'...)~ is a' !?ireat centre of mis~fon~1effott1 41.nd in Smyrna t!1e,ligM of QJµi~!JaJ,l~tI 'has neyh' been Elxtinet from apostolic times" (Dr. Tait) ... :ID.c this epbtl~· there ar-e fivt ,?O!l:ltil: ,that" arres~. our'attention.. ·(!) Jfffll~ "iti,,~Ql!ert?f:((2) fiend, it& religion; (3) "Saints tn }?e¥s~cutwn; (4) d~ty in fl-ml; 1anl'l: (5} ~ ,~ deat~. . , ., . ' L WEALTH IN POV~. n I Jmo:w _thy, works; and tnbulat1on, and poverty, b11t tn'iiu art rioh." ... " I know thy trl.bu1amh,. and'thy poverty." The poverty here is secular, 4ii<1t SJ?iritual; ··the wealth ·spiritual, ·tiot secular. , These two conditio~ of being, are ;se~rable;',an,d: are,.in the. -mst 'n:iajori~y of cases in human·life, d~tache1!.,_ SQ~t)lll-~ you, find, as 'tn ,the 01tse of the Laoiheeans, seculal' wealth associated with BI"nt~l ]:'ioferw.; !l,b'.d: mooem society here in England abo~ds with.examples of this CO®ition. &btffifr Ptinces, moral paupers; but in Smyrna the case is"different. . Hdoes not s_e~i;o. morally proper that, according to the order :of administrative righteousne8$, the,e two conditions should .be separate: The sight of secular abundance, where. there is moral de~titution-:--the destitution of true virtue-is repugnant at· once to our, conscience and our reilson •.:Nor ia the sight of'virtuous affluence in connection with secular fop.i~e~c,e,~ud_ w~nt a less incong_ruous sight. _A.ntecede~tly, we should have conclud~ that,under'tlie government of nghteousness;m proportion to a. man's moral (¾J;cel,knce will be his temporal prosperity; and the converse. Looking at these conditions, separm.e as they seen ,to have been in the case-of Smyrruean Ohristians, which is the better? D~cidedly the cdnuition.of spiritual wealtih with secular povei:ty, and for the following n\a.sdns ,: '1,' f/ecular ,pea"lth ii ~f ccmtingenhJiilue; spiritual is of abl!Olute wwth. 1 ,All eartlHy PJ.'.OP<:rt~ 'i;s but l~fe-leased, and all_ life-le'.'5ed Pl"l;'P8rty decrt11:1Sf18 in vali,e_ e.-yery ~r-' }!ot so ~~ritual ; m all worlds and m all times l~ u of ~uaJ. ~orth. 2. Sp~f1,tual '(J)e,(f,ltk 'IS ess&ntwlly virtuous ; not so secular. There JS no. virtue m the possessmn of 'm,aterial'{t~~lth. · ·It comes to a man sometimes independentl.y of. his efforts, and o4en b:V: effJfts' tha.t itivol'V'e' the sacrifice of all the great principles of religion and fair deali.n.g. Wealth may;'indeed, often stand a.s the effect and sign()f great tact, keen•sightedllllSS, ·and resolute perseverance, 1:iut not always, alas I of righteous dealing. The hist<iry of fortime'-making is too often the. history of low cunning, moral falsehood, and legal fraud. Moral wealth, howevet, i$ virtue itself; all must feel it is pmiseworthy; ft !IOOllreB the " weff done" of conscience, the approval of all pure intelligences, and Qf the .great God 1:1.ims~lf.. It: is ,intrinsically meritorious and praiseworthy. ·3. Spiritt,,u,l. wealth is essentially a ble~$i'lig ; secular often a bane. Virtue is its own reward;· it is the par:tdi.sli-' of' the i!tml. · Ilut secular wealth often undermines the health,.enfeebles tha intellect, and carnalizcs the heart. 4. Spiritual wealth is inalienable; 11BCular is..'IWt, How often temporal wealth takes to itself wingp., and flieR away I At death all goes; not 'it;. fraction is .carried into eternity.· Not ·so spiritlial. Character we carry ·with us wherever: we go. 5. Spiritual , wealth commands moral· respect; not 110. secular. A wretc,hetl · ftunkeyism shouts "Hosahnah .1" to a .man in lordly ma.nsions, or wmpt in ~tirple l'()bes; however corrupt in Mart be may be. But strip the hero of his ',traritleu'r, itnd reduce him to pauperism and beggary, and the miserable devoiee .will ifeoofl'with disgust. But spiritual wealth commands moral reverence everywhere. ·;: 11 n. ,FIEn>'s·m·RELIGION. "I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jew's, and [they]'are' not, but are the [a] synagogue of Satan." Though .the" Jews" llere dE!ICll"bed' are fiendishly bad; they. had· their synagogue,. their place ,·of .lll'Pl'f~ ')!hey perhapnffl.ended1w.the forms of ~ligioti, ceMl.-aud expounded the SoriJ:tU1'911,W! their, own way~· but tll'eir 'religion·wi.s fiendish,, ·'" Are the synagogue of Sat.au.. ·, ~ has ever had much to do with religion. • ·Religion, not godliness, is at QlilC& his shril;le a,u,i his instrument, Religion has been and still-is the greatest curse of the worl,l; it is~ IUll'llery and the mena.·-of ·every fiendish sentiment. It was religion that put to death the Son of God himself. There are churohes and conventicles that are rather .th,11 "synagogues of Satan" than th~ temples of Christ; in their assemblies th~ are fi11nd~ in human form, service, and vcice. They breathe the spirit of intolerant eectarianu,m and bigotry, and disseminate degrading ·and blasphemous. views of the all-h,iving Ma.k:er and Manager of .the· universe. The difference between what is called religion ~ Ohristlinees is the difference between light and darkness-life- and.death. , l:l•i!IA bil,s ever h!ld his syugogues. , · . .. . :.. . . . .,;·, IIL- ·SAINTS' IN BERSBOlm.'IoN. "Fear none of these things which thou s)lillt sulfer: behold; thede-vil shall cast sofue of .rou into prison, that ye m~y l>e,tried ;-'and ye shall have tribulation ten days."•··· Christ, -when on earth, 311sured,,_\tis,,disciples ~at ,$ey should have " tribulation.", ,bJ. the world they shall have "'ttibulation." .. Anc;l .npw from the.' heights of eternity he sounds the same warning. The words .suggest four things concerning their persecution. 1. It was religiow~ · It came -from toose:who belonged. to the synagogue, and tholl8 who prided. themselves on being Jews-,.des(lelld.- anta of Abraham, who Wa>J.the father of the faithful. . A, s1mrious rel.igioU: hae ..ever ~a the chiefest and the bitterest fountain of persecution. Inquisitiowl .have,-~n -oon:- structed, chah1& have, been forged, tortures have been inflicted, awl martyr-tires, been kindled by the men of the synagogue. 2. The persecution 'WaB sev~-NJ. "I k.nQw:tby tribulation." It consists of impoverishment, "blasphemy," .and reviling; a.nd.unprison- ment. "Cast some of you into prison." Corrupt religion dries up the fountains of social sympathy in the human breast, dehumanizes humlUl nature--;turns .man into a. deviLl · 3,; T/ie pet·secutian was testing. " That ye may be tried." Ali .if Christ · iReferring to this. subject. the following :remarke ftom a modem exposit.or wfu :repay pemaal: «U wonld not be for your good, and it w011ld not be for the good of G:oo'e cause on earth, that yonr false parts ehould be covered up and disguised to the end, or t)lat.your life on earth should b~ one of smooth, eMy, tranquil roUtin(l, ma.king no demand upqn you, principles, upon your courage, or upon your Divine strength; you are to be ~si;,e:vl;)nintp pria6n·tho.t you lll&Y be t,ied" (Dr. Vaughan). . . ,... , "Yas.11 numbers of Jews had congregated in Smymafor tbe sake of commerol;l,and when, eTer. they had the opportunity of resisting Christianity, they wer11 not ~. ze~OUIJ. than Alexander the coppersmith, and his companions at Ephesus, in waging ,war against its supporters; and the missionaries of the cross had as much to fear from them as fro1;11.thp Bacchus,worshippers with whom they ·were surrounded. It is thought, not withoµt some probability, that the martyrdom of-Germanicus and others of Smyrna, who ,nffered nMel' Marcus Aurelius, is alluded to in a passage where it is Sll,id, •The deviLahlill east some f)f. you into prison;' and we know from the lll&J;lner iu which the Jews joined .with Satanio ragii in carrying out the martyrdom of Polycarp, how virulent they were in .their pe~o~tio;o. gf the Christiane; and how powerful as a. body they were in Sm1rna. Smyt'll.&, in :el)Cll~• 1M1tical history, is celebrated as the Church over which Polycarp presided. 81.· bishop. Polycarp was the disciple of St, John, and there is a. strong probability that he was. the 'angel' of the Churoh here addressed. He was contemporary with St. Ignatius. who •NP also a. disciple of St. John,;and who suffered martyrdom,in A.D. 107, .eleven years after t4fl messages to the Ohurohes were delivered, Now, there are two letten of lgnatiUB e ~ one8ruhessed to the Ohuroh at l::!myrn.a, written by him from Troas; and the other:ai\\liessed directly to Polycarp, who was then Bishop of Smyrna. . Archbishop Usher ¥1 -~ .OQ~ siderable pains to show that Polycarp was the Angel of the Church at Smyrna. over whi.oll Churoh he must have presided-seventy.four years. That he was an extremely old man whe~ in A.D. 167, be euff'ered ma:rtyrdom, we lea.m from the interroga.tion of the proconsul, whp, after aeking him if he was Polyc.arp, added, 'Have pity on thy own grea.t age.', Wh_en fu?ther urged ·to reproach Christ, and his life would be spared, he ija.id, • Eighty and ~ years have I served him, and :he bath never wronged me: and how can I blaspheme :tQy .King• who ha.$h. 1aved me?' These. eighty and <1ix. yee.rs cannot be the entire~ ot Folycarp, but the period which elapsed from his.oon.verllfflll, whioh IJ1.U8t h,-ve taken plfil8I, according to this ooloulation, in- .A.D, 81, so th0.t fifteen years must have pe.saed frcm.ilul time he first knew Christ until the epistle to the Church a, Smyrna WIIB written. ' T ~ 100 THE :REVELATION OJ!' ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. (oa. I t 1....29.