f!ld prophets, like tlud;1idden manna and the Urim, seen by-the high,priest alone, but "~eh rev11lation of the glory of God can only be known by those who have l'8Ceived ~•: , .,(a). This ma.y be a. sign of acquittal. . In the ancient Gi;eek courts of justice it w~.ousto~ to .signify the judgment pronounced upon the-accused by throwing a ~W~ into an um; the blacl~ stone expressaj, cond,emnation, the white acquittal. _, 'l'.hus &c.~~ .. - was convictied and .condemned, There will be a public expression.at .t~ ~. t /lay oJ&the -~uittal of thQSe who have won the battle. (b) '.!'his may be a sign of (JUf!,lificn,timi. It seems that befqre. the- Levit.es-and the priests under the Law were jl,lp:wed tQ_minister at the altar, they were examined, in order to a.scertaiµ, whether they were oereD\90ia.lly cleap, or f)lot.. ·l:utu~stic purity was regarded _as the necessary q1/-8lifi<;atioq ~gr _ol;'fice. T.b,qse who were found tp ha,ve thi!I qqali:fication 1uMi a "white''. !'~one pi,-esented j.o them. lle who came forthJcoi;n the euniination bore this Sig/1; '9f Mr;tess for his,sacerdotal 'l'Y~tion. Thill\ the." white stone" here may mean tlia~ ,\1~ :wl;i.~ ~ns thfl mo;al .l:>attle of life will 1-?e 1rega.rded. as fit for the high ~&vices. ~ tpe ~~!!Btial worlq,. ( c), This Dl8.Y be a sign. o( public hpnour,,. It was. oust.om&Iy m t~ ~ia'Ihgairuis tog1v;1J.a"white stone" to him who hadwon,the victory. Hewhq held ,this sto1,1J1 ·WJl,S eµ,titled to be supported, at the public expense, had free &CC¥B to all ~e {estivities of t¥ nation, and was ;regarded. 118 illustrious in ~11 great _ga.th~rings. 1'hus he ,who ,ms the;mora.l battle of life shall, be publicly honoured. "A crown of _glory is prepared for him, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, sha.ll give unto him, at that day." He will have free admission into all the honours of eternity. (2) '.l'hs charactt'JI' of the ;distiµ,ctio~. What is the character? .· It is something n~-it. is· a new name. "In the stone ..l' new name written, which no man knowe,4 say.ing he that r~ive$ it.''. ..What is this new name, the knowledge .of whicq. ii, entirely a matte, of individual consci9u~ness wi.th)im who has it? This is it, "j,Onf! ot,GQd:'' No one know~ &:nything (tf t/l!~ ~n.shlp but .he who is the subject of it.-D, T. ,, ,.
' Vers.18~~9.;;~ wdr,is ef <Jhriltfa>rr,, eternity to the CQfl:.grega#an aii"'l'kydtira, ".A,nd UUito th1i !11,lgel of the Church in Thya,tira," etc. Thyatira wa.s situated between Perga;inos and Sarm.s, a little off the main road Vfhich connected these two cities..· tt wa,s a Mai¥,9nia.Ii coiony, founded by Alexandjir t)le Great (or who,m I sb,oiµd i,-ather destgnate •~_.Alexat1,der the OontempU'ble") after the overthror of the fersµin. ~mpire. '.l'he Macedonian colonists appear to have introduced the worship of .i\pollo, l:;onoure9- a.s ~he 11u:ii-gqd, under1 ,tJ;ie name of Tyrumnas. It has been $ought by som1i ·that' th11 (wsi:riftion he.re _giv~ of Chpst-" the eyes of flame "-:was sel1,ot~ µi all.~sion to, thi, worslpJl of the sun-god, under the form of some dazzb,ngly oniamented lmage., .. per;- taii:ily &oae commercial. intercourse connected the daughter colony 'with its· mot4er city': Th~re.. ti!lem .to jlave D¥.n various mercantile guilds iii the .colopy-bal,rnfs, potters; tannel'll; we11vers, and :dyers.. ' The dye-trad1, wa~, perhaps, th~_ ~oat Jn:ipprta.nt. tydia, the, seller of pu:w.~, was in all likelihood cqnnected with Jb'e gtiild .of dyJrs; an4 her I\P~rance' in i:'..f_lfippi is an illustration of the trade relations of Ma.\)ed9nia an4 Thyatira. To her the Cntjstian community of Thyatira may hav:.e owed its beginning. "Slie w:i,_o .~ad gone f6rth foi: a. while to buy and sell and get again, whe11 11he_ teturn_eJ. ·home mat have brought horn,~ with her richer .merchandise than any sne had, looked to obtaiµ '(Trench). The population was qf a_ mixed character, irnd included besides Asiatics, Macedonia.us, Italians; and Cbaldreans. . Of all the homiletic sketches on this epistlll, rknow of 110 sketch so.cl,ear and comprehhisiv_e, so philosophic a.no, s~e~~ive1 as that of the late Caleb Morns~ne of the greate~t, if not the greatest preacher that has ·appea:;-ed in London during t~e century. Those whorµ the pop~lar. sentiment desig1;u~t8'8·« prinQes of preachers" Be£W to me ,to shrink into contempt inJ1is pr8'88nce. "Tp~re are;,, he says, "four. things 1£ this epi~tle to which we shall call attention- the. iximmendabl~ in _cl.[i,racter, the rept!hensible 1,1!' doc~rine,_ the fnilis~a~le in 1u,f; 0,1id the blessed pi, destiny." How forc1bly every item lD thrn ep1Stle lS brought out.or ~bl~~- :(o~r general divisioµ& ! 1 To attelfiv,t a plan equal to this in all. points of exc~I~ \! I~nC!l won,ld be pr,esumptio?. Albeit, as. 1 would be_ supereroga~ory and usel0ll8 t.o repe\\t wliat others . haye said, I shall endeavour to bnng all the important elements of, the ~hapter unddr, one general heading-l¼ moral character of 'ITl,(J,nkiwl i and 'he~ we .liave it in three aiil,)OOts. ,~, 1 See Homilist, vol wv. p. 276, 104 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [<m. n. t-29.