The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 286

111geli," or the " heaven " when no longer "place" wu " found any more" for Uiem ; nor attem,P,tiog to explain exactly what ia meant by the dragon being "cast out into '1ie ·e&lth,' or how he "accused" the "brethren. • • before our God day and night"- what all this meana none know; but we may take the text as telling of that holy war which all Christiana have to wage, and of the weapons whereby they overcome. Note- L Tml l'BOPLB WHO OVBB(IAML Those spoken of; I. Stand /Qt' tha whole <1Allll'0 qf God, the whole oompany of the redeemed. "There iB no discharge in this war." · Not one will be in glory by-and-by who has not Wtiged, who has not won, this holy war. We, u they, muat take our part. And: 2. TMy did as w, muat. We paint fancy pictures of the saints in glory, as if they were beings different from ourselTee, and had never known the strain and stress of life as we know them. But they did know it all. Christ, our Lord 1 was ·" in all things made like unto hiB brethren," and therefore all of them have the common characteristics of this warfare upon them. Only: 3. The lol qflha. ,pedally re/8'N'ed to her• was harder thanoun. Had St. John lived in our daya of quiet ease, when persecution, much less death, for Christ's sake is • thlng unknown or most rare, he would hardly have used imagery of so tremendous a kind as he has here. But it wu because the trial was 80 terrible for all those "who would live godly in Christ Jesus," the foe ao fierce and cruel and strong in thoa dreadful days during which St. John wrute, that imagery 80 vivid, startling, and terrific is made use of. But it would be affectation if we were to aay our lot to-day is as theirs wu In St. John's day. How much more, then, may God require from us than from them! Will he obtain it? 4. In this holy war they all fought. It was not merely 19)pointed for all, but accepted by all of them, They did not refuse or retreat from it. That was not their way. Like as the brave little drummer-boy, when captured by _the ll'rencb army, was bidden sound the "retreat," he replied that he did not know how to, for the British army never retreated; BO may it be said of every true soldier of Ohrist's army-they never retreat,; 5. .And they overcam., "Oh, remember the slaves of sin are not the children of God. If Satan has dominion over you, you are not in Christ Jesus. Where the ark of the Lord is, Dagon must fall upon his face and be broken. • That which is bom of God overcometh the world.' Are we, then, resisting? are we conquering? Do not let us deceive ourselves. If sin is our master, we perish. Grace muat reign in ue, or we are wretched indeed. Holin8611 is not a luxury for the few, it is a necessity for all." lL THE l'OWEB IN VIBTUB OJ' WBIOB THEY OVEROAIIB. It is wd that this was : 1. By U.. blood n/ the Lamb, i.e. in virtue of, on account of, on the ground of, that blood. Now this is 80 boos.use thel>lood of the Lamb is : (1) The basis ef our peace. There must be steady standing-ground if a man is to fight. 'l'he engineer is very careful to have firm foundation for his work. And if we are to contend in this warfare, our souls must be ai peace in regard .. to our acceptance with God. The torture of doubt and Urn torment of fear will be fatal to our accomplisl,ing aught worthy of the name. We muat have peace with God; and we have this only ·in virtue of Christ's atoning sacrifiee. (2) The gntidote of our sin. Many tpink the doctrine of full, free forgiveness through the blood of Christ a doctrine that encourages men in sin. They argue that what is 80 freely forgiven will be freely incurred. The elder son in the parable thought It waa BC8Jl<lalous that his young ne'er-do-well of a brother should be so freely forgiven by bis father, and so "he was angry, and would not go in." And there have ever been people who have thought this. But we appeal to the records of the Church.. Who have been the most faithful, the most pW'C, the most Christ-like? Has it not been they who have clung, like Paul did, to this blessed truth with all their hearts? And we appeal to experience. Is it not the memory of our crucified Lord that is mighty t.o the purification of the heart? Can the recollection of hie love and the love of sin abide together? It is impossible. So does the blood of Christ clean86 us from all sin. (3) Worketh l•., patienc«. How this is needed, in such a warfare as that which the much•kied believer has to wage, is evident. BleBSed is he that endureth. But what au aid to such patient enduring is found in the example of our Lord I We think of him in all hiB holy meeknesa; how "u a sheep before her ■hearers is dumb," etc. And 1111 we contemplate that J>l'.rfect pattern of patient enduring of wrong, how our own trials and eonows become little, and leBfl and lllllil in comparison with hlsl C•) 2'A. iupiratum of our low.. "A.le:s:ander, Cresar, Charle~ne, !U1d myself," said Napoleon, UV~TIO!il• f 329 THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. (oH. xtt. 1-1\'.