tion. Ex.traonilnary Tiaiom men often h,.ve in. tile still:, :watohea of the •11.ight, ia the But imagination oan act more ICCurately, if not more vividly, ia ll8a80D. of dream.a. the hour of oonscioW1ness &Jld i-ntellectaal activity. Thus Milton beheld his heavens and hia hells, his angvla and his devils. We can all, by the foroa of imagination. penetrate the visible, the material, the tangible, withdraw the sublUDlll'Y curtain and step iot.o the world of spiritual wonders. 2. By tM inftu of a new spirit. b is not uncommon for men to come into possession of a new nding spirit, and with a new spirit comes a new world. When the rhilosoplw; spirit enters a maa (and it does to ill the case of a few in every age and land), the man is ushered into a 11.ew world.~ a world of high thoughts, invisible forms, and remedial foroee. When the a , ~ llphii enters therlllltic lout, he soon finds himself in a new world-a world of apeoulationaand struggles, of loeaea and gains. When the paren,l4Z spirit enten the aou1, it is bom& into a world before unseen-a world of solicitod.e, abl!orbing interests, pains and pleasures. sorrows and joys. When the ge,w.iftt:ly religiou, spirit enters the soul, it eotera •this higher sphere of human lire-the world of brightness and beauty, the worlci . of an •c innumerable company of angels, the spirits of just men made perfect," etc. "-And immediately [straightway] I was in the Spirit." "Heaven lieubout ua inour: infancy," and \\le b&ve only to be in this spirit to realize it. 'l'he great Teacher taught tha., no man can see the kingdom or Gild, unless he comes into the posseBllion of this. spirit. " That which is bom of the 8.esh is ftesh, and that; which is born of the Spirit is spirit.°' CoNOLUSION, Search not for an outward heaven, but rather &eal!Ch• for that new 8pirit, that spirit of OhriaUln.us, that will let you into the heaven that lies a.bout you and within you. Were the twelve hnndred million men that tenant this earth to,.,lay · to come into possession of this spirit, they would arise on the morrow and exclaim, "Behold, a new , heaven and a new earth I" Evermore the st&te of III mau•a aool determines his universe. The ruling life within him measures out, builds up, and moulds the extemal.-D, T.
Ver. lO.-Mat1 in Aeci11tn. "They cast their crowns before the throne." .Far am I from pretending to tbe power of explaining this book. There is ample scope here for the play of imagination. Here is a field which, under the culture of a vivid fancy, ia capable of producing theories and speculations suited to every variety of taste, every grade of intellect, and every degree of culture. In this chapter John ha.a a. fflffltal, Divine, and ,ymbolical vision of heaven : the "door is opened," and a voice com~nda him to ascend and enter. By" heaven," of oourse, I do not mean heaven as a place, but GS a state of the Ohristly IOOl-the Aeaven wit kin, a subjt'JCUve paradise. The text leads us to infer- I. THAT KAN nr TBIB HRAVE!!i BAS REACHED THE HIGHEST DIGNITY, . He baa "crowns." We are J/.Ot to suppose, of co\u'se, that there are m&terial crowns in heaven ; these, whether formed of ~Id, or diamonds, or both, are the mere toys of earth ; but crowns are used here as the emblem of the highest diguity. 'l'he earth has nothing higher to offer man than a crown ; men have hazarded their lives and waded throu.,oa ieas of blood to get a crown. Be.ause of the importance whicb. nniveraal man attaches to a crown, it is employed to represent the dignity of men in he,aven. Thill crown is, called. in the New Testament "a crown of righteousness." Earthly crowni a.re oft.ea aaociated with iniquity; their histoey ia one of violence and wrong. But the dignity l'll&Cbed. by men in heaven. will be "righteous "-it will be in harmony with univeratl rectitude.' There i•. no being ln the uniyerse that can oharge them with havillg reached. their position by unjust means. It is called "a crown of life.'' 'l'he crown which the visitors in the Grecian games obtained BOOn withered and died; the weaved garlands liOOn became dust. The crowns which sovereigns wear in more modern timea are oor- rnptible/tbe diaIQ.onds wQl grow dim, and the gold will wear out; but the crown of man in heaven is "a crqwn of life." It iii not something put on; it is the exgre&sion of his being. The crown is to the ma.n what the blossom la to the tree. wb&t the ~o: ii to the sun-aomething ming 1>ut of the. being-lJhe fruit of his life. It. is called "a crown of glory," What is glory? l'aul says, "'l'here is one glory of theaun and anQthei: of the stars; n and we m"3' - , tltere is one g19ry of tile earth and one of the heav. . The things to which men attach the idea of glory a.re. ~ities in the eatimat.iQa: of Jhaven. Take the ~Olt magnificently attired 1overeign of the world, 1urpassing all. BBVBLATIOB, ~ 162 THE REVELATIOB OP· BT•. JOHN' TBB· DlVllm. [as.•• 1-u.