to tbe children of. Israel, foretold what would happen to the Jewish people iJJ, after &g!!S if they· were unfaithful to their God, The. twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteri>nomy :,is boiug fulfilled to this day. So also, in t}).e.several, proplietii, ~ere is uetohllli a~ d - plan of •"the 8Utferings of Christ and the glory that shou],a follow;" ,-g, jn the.well- Tmown fifty-third of Isaiah there is not one single word wluch. ~e are at."a l~ to veri.fy, .aa we put aide by side what Old Testan:;tent seers foretold and wJ:ui,t New '.restl/,lnent eY&Dgelists and apostles declare. Further: on, we read our Lord's vredictioDB oonceming ~e fall•of JeruBalem. They have been.fulfilled. History is thus the repeated ful$m.8!)t of prophecy, .:What has been will be again, And with no mjagiving we declare that w.hat. ill .yet to be witnessed on earth will correspond with the prophetic words of the ap:,stles and prophet& of our Lord an.d Saviour. , We are looking for "the blessed hope ....-the; glori<)us appearing of the great God, even fllll' Savio,ur Jesus Christ." . V. THII TDDli OI' THE .END IS ll'O&EIIBEN, ,•. When_ the seventh angel is about to 1110und then the mystery of God would be :finished;, j.e. as far as the p~n of providence is indicat.ed in the book of propheey, it will be CQ~ated. The "end" will be this: , • The kingdOIDI of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever." But let. ue not forget the sense in which this .'lfurd " finlshed" ia, must be, intended, . It canll()t mean that from that point God will redwie, all to a blank, or beeome inactive, or cause the glory of redemption to be no more. Ah nol We cannot doubt that the advance will be still from glory to glory. But the mystery will .be finished,· as jar as G<¥i ~A 861m fit to tell.• m Aw Word, " Finished. according to the good tidi~s," etc. Th611ll gi~e at once .the intent and the limitation of the mystery which is thus to .W" finishE!<t'' J½velatioJJ, is. bounded bQth IR&J&, back and front. We know nothing prior to that beginiµng wh!lll,_,~d createdJJie heavens and tha41&rth. We know, ,:nothing later than ,,i the end, "'hen" Qli.ri#lt ~ l!ball have delivered up thekingdom to God, even the Father, that God may be ~!,iµ,all." ::Vl,'l'B18 POBBOaAlf.l' BEOEIVE8 VAST APDI:r!ONAL WEIGHT 00¥ TJilE•GLO;RY,.Q,I' TBB BlnN<i· BY WBOll '1'818 DISCLOsuu 18 JUDE. • He is "a mighty ,angel." He appears .in tqe name of Heaven; and is. invested with the inaigim of majest;y.,'pomp, and _mia}lt. There ia a sevenfold symbolism here. Be lll "anayed with ,\I, c~qud "-at _.once the sign of ~he Divine presence, and a symbol of .the mystery which surronnds t;he throne. There is ,, a rainbow upon bis head "-the token of the oove~nt of' peace. His 6M,e is ~• as the sun "-pure and bright with the burning blazing light of holi11ess.. His feet are t' as· pillars of fire; " by his tread he puts down sin ; with fire, he burns. it up. . He_ J1as in his hand "a· little book open." This is ~trikingly .dffl'llf8Ilt from the .sealed book which only the Lamb could open. The open bool-, ®ntains. the p>.essa.ge which the apostle is -to declare. :H~ set his right foot upon the sea,. etc., stand~ng subl,i.mely in p(>888i8ioo of boih in the name of Heaven. He cried with a . ~ roioe.. as a_ lion roareth. His voice is full of strength. He lifts up his' right hu.d. to heaven, and S!Wean by him that liveth for ever and ever that there shall be DO m.ore delay•.i Long as the time may 166m to be during which the woi;ld rolls round weatjly with its buJtlen 9f sin, when a certain point of time is reached, " a short work will. the Lord make upon the earth." The consummation will be delayed ~ot a moment too ,loµg. and -the honour, majesty, and might of Heaven are pledges of the fulfilrpE)nt.of the wJml. . '. VII. WBBX THE BYSTERY OF GoD IS J'INI~Jgl::O,. WHE'BB 8JlALL WE BE? Finished i4 will be,; "The mouth of the Lord bath spoken-it." As BUNly as, at the end of one cycle of events the Saviour cried, "It is finished I" so surely when another cycle .l;las run its round will there come another, '' It is done I" The Author of our faith is also kl-' .Finisher, The Redeemer's cross finished the mystery of, the old covenant; his tr0wn ahall finish the mystery of the new ooveDaDt. And when the end cometh we ■hall be-where? We shall stand in "our lot" at the end of the days. But what will eur lot be? With the righteous or with the wicked? For then the distinction will be manifen. No one will then be in. doubt as, to his own position before God. Surely bc,is of infinite moment to us that, when the mystery of God is finished, we should oo· on the right side. There is, indeed, a smaller "mys\el'y of God" which is working out. • Every maD'a. life is a plan of God" (Bushnell). "I girded, thee tboug)l thou, but not known me.• God ii working it out according to hia. goepel. "He• thai ,beli~eth on '. ' 1 Of, Ardhdeaoon Lee's • Commentary,' in Z:00., for the ■everal interpretations of- this phraN. ,-.alao BIDpl and P; W. Gr&Dt on the Jlll8li&i8, . · , • · ea.x;. 1-11.] rB:I, BE.VE~TI.ON OF ST.·.J()HN-,T~ DIVJIOI. 2.7_9
the Bon hath everlasting life," etc. .And amid the " wreck-Of ~ -!-Il-9· ~ Ol'lWh of w-0rlda " we shall want a Friend in whoi:n we can repose amid all the coimilsiomi 'that shake ·this globe. There i~ One-and. One only, of who~ it is eternaliy ~e.-f~~ou art the same.,. That One 18 J eeus. He says to 118, "Him that cometh I will m W> ,wile cast. out." Here. then, let us cling. He will not ,l!)t us go, nor let, us be harm~, though this earth be burned up. In him is everlasting rest. ., ·., "Then let the ~h's old pillars shake, And all the wheels of nature break; Our stesdv souls should fear no more Than solia. rooks when billows roar I" ·