The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 334

" Yea, saith the Spirit." It is (3) promised to them who e.re spiritual : •• i» the Lord.11 It is (4) the reward of fidelity maintained to the end of life: they" die in the Lord." The reward is (1) a state of felicity: "blessed" e.re they. (2) It consists in a state o/ repoae after toil, danger, and e;i;poBure: "They rest from their labours." (3) It is exhibij;ed as the consequence aj and _ack11owledgment oj their diligent, obedient labour: "Their works follow with them." Here is the eucouragement io (1) lkll!-denial; (2) patient labour; (3) undying devotion.-R. G. Vers. 14-20.-Judgment again represented. In the spirit of the former words, and as a further confirmation of them, the proces& of judgment is again set forth under fresh images. So is consolation borne to the suffering and afflicted Church, and warning and admonition dealt out to the ungodly. Under the imagery of a harvest and of the gathering of the vintage, the certainties of the threatened judgment and the promised blessedness are set forth. The afflicted, down-trodden, despised Church must here see mighty motives urged upon it to maintain a. steadfast faith and hope and patience. This vision declares-. . I. 'l'HE FINAL CESSATION OJ.I' THE CHURCH'S StrJ.l'FERING. Her warfare may be long continued. Generation after generation of believers may be called upon to suffer, but an end is appointed. It will be proclaimed: "The hour to reap is come." The life of "earth "-ever the symbol of that which stands in opposition to the heavenlies-ha.s been patiently borne through much long-suffering. But this is at an end-" the harvest of the earth is over-ripe." The command is issued, " Send forth thy sickle, and reap." II. THE GATHERING 01" A HARVEST RAS TH:& PREVAILiliG CHABAOTEB or GRAOIOUS- nss. It is the ingathei:ing of that which sprang from "the seed" which "ia the Word; n and, in our view, indicates the gathering for the heavenly gaf"nff'. IJJ. THE FIGURE OF THE VINTAGE IS RESERVED l'OB THE EXPRESSION OJ!' THE WRATH Ol!' Gon. "Wherefore a.rt thou red in thine apparel ? ••• I have trodden the wi~e-presa alone." Here it is distinguished as" the great wine-press of the wrath of God." No suoh designation is given to the wheat-harvest. In this, then, we are to see the final fudgment upon the wicked. Thus are set before us both the ingathering of the holy- the harvest waiting for which "the husbandma.n" has had " long patience," and the in!!atbering or crushing of the wicked. "Terrible," indeed," is he in his doings to the children of men."-R. G. Vers. 1-5.-The super,ensuous heaven of huma,n,ty. "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount Zion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven," etc. May we not regard these verses as a pictorial representation of the supersensuous heaven of humanity, If so, the following facts a.re suggested concerning the unseen realm of the good or the Christly. L IT IS A SCENE IN WHICH CHRIST 18 THE CENTRAL FIGUBI!I. "And I looked raaw], and lo [behold), a [the] Lamb stood [standing] on the Mount Zion" (ver. 1). No one acquainted with the Scriptures needs to ask who the Lamb is. Christ is the "Lamb of God." Why is Christ called" the Lamb"? Is it because of his innocence, or because of his moral and sacrificial character, or both? :Morally he was innocent as a lamb, " holy, undefiled." "He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.n Or is it on account of his sacrifice? He was, indeed, a sacrifice ; his whole being was 11, sacri- fice. 'l'here have been those who have answered these questions to their own satisfac- tion, and there are now those who render replies without hesitation or doubt. I cannot. My eyes are too dim to penetrate into the rationale of Divine operations. What see!lll clear is that Christ is the central Figure in man's heaven. He stands on the citadel on which all eyes are fastened, and to which all hearts point and all sympathies flow. II. IT IS A SCENE lll"TEREBTINGLY POPULATED. 1. The population ls very numerou,. "An hundred forty and four thousand" (ver. 1). This I take to be a definite number used to represent an indefinite multitude-a. "multitude which no man could number." The dreamer being a Jew, his visions are,of course, full of Jewish facts and sentiments. Hence he thinks of the Jewish scene of worship, Zion, and the Jewish 1ribes, inca.leu- lably numerous. To us, however, all these are mere illustrations of things higher, more important, and lasting. The human tenants in heaven were in number beyond calcu- 874: THE REVELATION OP ST. JOHN THE DIVINE. [CR. .nv. 1-20.