The Pulpit Commentary — Revelation — Section 482

· Ver1J.~.---The;New JermaMtn. <We musi,;se!) in- this a, portrayal of ,that,holy oommunity w-hichis'i~itne,bride,the,wife,of .the Limlb.'1 dttjl. the ideaL,repteseJilialion, of vital Ohristianity.,..Cliristiaiiity a.B71 •aystem,,.but,as, a llj'St6m .embodiediil' .the lives· of menl Tlie. descriptions .·are, of :a glorious eharacter, ' What call -~Id the. essentiali glory '.bf the ,tniil Oh?jstend()m, t!te. true· Church; the, true. bri~. the,vemabl& "wife.of the 'Lamb,"?, H,must D-Ot be sepam.t11d-fromAhe-heaveely, the bnal· Jel'llli&Iem,i the-b,appy ,home of every vieary pilgrim,-·the final abode of every spiritual eitw.en, the. final resting-;place :whither: the feet of all humble, holy souls tend. : But the heavenly ~ o n ea.rth. And.in this vision :W~mrist see the heaveri;ly,on the earth. -'The bcnate language suits its heavenly dmra.eter, and its heavenly prototype. . Babylon W!l3, the seat of the· beast; this is the-city of the great King. , It may be practiaally imposli.hle toe decipher the symbolica'I writing, especially in its details, 1t1.1d- it may- ,be as un.wise te, attempt it ,as.it isinipractioable to accomplish it; b.uttliema.infeat1:1resof the:synibolical teaemng,;00nsidered,in the light of <>ur-previous interpretatioru1,,ma.y do•btless-hetraced. Not \ntliout ,feat that our prepossessions may-mislead ue;wa will :attempt to find in 1tbe wtirds.t)f this section:e setting forth ofthe-1essential glories bf the true and>-aotual Ch:ristianity~:howeverideally considered. ' . ,, . I. ITS· l!'IRSTOS:ARAari:111BTIO IS HOLINESS. lt;is .set-up in the midst.of evil and.in opposition to it. lt i11 holy; for it is /~from God; , it is holy, for it -promotes holiness in its subjects; all who pertain to it are called to be saints. Whate-rer .is.-not in. harmony.with true·idea.s1ofholiness cm-ha-ve no part.-in the holy city, ,. ,., .JL, 1TB ORIGIN 1s DIVINE. f<lt conieth down out of:heaven from God." 'l'he-,true Ohurch has its fount iµ h'im. He calls the first band out of the, surrounding darkneu. AlHs of his.grace. .He gives, the Word which is the seed of the kingdom.: He is· the Fa.tlier oh.ll. rJ'-he'Church's grandest idea is that it is of.God, IIJ. IT HAS lTSJHIGHEST,ADORNJIENT IN THE Ji:ANlllESTATION 01!' 'l'IIE D ~ GLORY, But!' the glory of 'God:Us the symbol of God himselfr We approach:the true Sh61;hinil.b. tl.'he glory of the Chnrolvis· the p-esenbe ,of God. How,near: is that manifested, glQry brought to us in the Incarnation! how• near in the abiding Spirit'& presence! , This-is the true light that shineth over the city. · -. , r lV. lTS8TABILITYi-HAIMIONY,AND ORGANIC UNITY·ABE RBPREBENTED m THE J'IGti:RE or TBE OI'l'Y, Here are taught the intercourse, the fellow-ship,.ths sa.fety,,the mutual intetest, -0f the holy ones. What is.here ideally presented may not-always be actually, found.· We deal with the patterns oltbe hea.venly things: · . · V. THE FBEll1Jo1ss:, OF ITS ACCESS TO ALL NATIONS is here declared. The gates of the city, ever open, .stand to the east, the west, the north, the south. But: one: city; but a.ll•may enter, , - ,, · YJ. THE CHORriH;18 BIJILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE ;A.POl!TLES AND PROPHETS. Alltbe living Christianity has its basis here. ,, • VIL-~'HE IIPLENOOUR,. BEAUTY, PBRFEOTNEBS, STRENGTH, -AND GREATNESS OF ·TBJI CHURCH oF • Gon--.,the ,living Christianity of ,ours and of every'. day, a,nd- the whole idea of.the;same-,-are11et forth.in the utmost -wealth of, symbolicaLextravaganee. · -, ·, ,. VIII. THE LNTI:lilTE; ALLIANCE OF THE• DIVINB BETS-ABIDE'.'-i'HE EARTHLY AND IMPEB'F.EOT.ELEMEN'rs.. Thereisnovisible temple. "The Lord God theAlmighty,.and- the Lamb;are th:e temple of it.'' .Theillumination,o,f the whole city is found in the life and grace of -0hrist. · , ' iJX. · 1J'ial: >UHIVEBIIALLY, DIFFUSED· BENEFICENT. INFLtrlliNOB Oil' · 0aBIBTIANITY is declared> The. nations ~k in the light -0f it, and- . •X. Tm:m MOil'ROOAJ,• .1.oKNOWLEDGlllENT, is found .in that they" bri~ their glory and honoW? into it!' · . Xl. 1TB WIIIUNITY FROM TBE OONTAlllINA.TION AND DEJl'ILEMEN'l' Oil'·EVIL is mdieated. Nothing unclean; nothing untrue, nothing of evil nature; enters it. It is ideal. ·-True. Yet. no evil elements shall ultimately be found in the Ohurch of Obrist i and;, aa at first we 11tated; the earthly is lost in the heavenly, of which it .is at once the beginning, the type, and the pledge.-R. G. · · ·· ·. : , · · ,:, ,_: . . . -~- ' . . . -\\ ,\ Yers. 1-4.-The fifth sC6-11e in the hi&Wrg -0/ red661Ma humanity: tMwnemli-,agt of blessedness. "And I sa.w a new heaven and a new earth," etc. .The retJibutive pro- CleJS -ia over; tae characteni of all have been tried. and tlie doom of aU plQnowicild, •---'------~~----------------------- 'lhe!wiolrred· are driven away into pnniabmen~ but-the.righteous have enWred iJllx> ·rue eteiwi.h • Toead. words,suggeat two'ihtmglrt&,in:remMOn,io:thlll.finalvil~ r1·,, ·,1,,·r;o.; ..,1, 'fiLi.T;n-'WILIJ He~ .a IIBNSJl,A 11EW!£l'ATJL<: ~A new·he1m1nawl:!<&•1i&w:earih/' 11111d ;., ~ - .Jerusalein" (Ters.:· 1;12). In iwhat'Bensewill it be·~'Jiew ~? lmn wnoeiTe of•l:atiee·seuses iri which it will be new.,,· 1. B. mayibe phytiiaall,y ~ ·- ~ ilr teuon W'hlliie•e !iliat. a ~t'ehangit will.take plaoe:in·the ma.terial~creation.,.Iindeed,.:there !"a,~ whlelr ru.1'=s~tly·c~~ t~e1earth; an~ t!ie hA:a.v:ens, a.nd,the at,moq,he~ 11)( "whicJi. -our olouds: 8Wllll and ita'r1t ahme. Thee morgan.10. ·the megetable, anil: ihe animal 'llforlds• m, ooosta.nJ1y, changing,. !l'he helief of the ·M1ilients, the doeiriufli;.-Oi g.illagy, aad fhe :testimony,of the. Scriptures.:!avOUI!· the opinion lihat the fires ,w~oh bw:il'lini"ihe,oeatre-.of,the f,jiobewill one day l,um mtoa,univetsal ;vo\cano,iman\le-.he earth ln:iiames,1 and reduce its' fa.ir,est. wrms tio ashe&. , Out of .this ruin may rise' -~a.,ne,w hea'va, arubi.,riew eanhl',, 2. It may N : d ~ d l l y new.,:, Hea.veni and:earih are aometimes used' iin ·Scripture,to designate the diapensatioilli under which men have -lived, ~ Th1i8. eaitb th8 Lord' of hosts; Yet once., it is a ,Jittlil while,:, and I will· shake -the liea.vens and the earth/' 0 The. reference is, tmdoubt.edly,.to1tll.erJe:wish ~nom7, ~:-ll'he patriarchal ga.ve way to the Mosaic, the Mosaic to the Ohrietian,iand now' the Ohiris'tiau will give- wa.yltoi somethfug •el!IB.: Olirist- '111'ill .delinr up .the <kingdom- to. God the Father,, 3. It· ,may w, relatively. f'UM, New1"rl.n ,the Je8tima.tioa iand :fe,Iing; of .,the oocupantri. No trn\h ilJ' more olear ths.ri this,,,tha1r the world is to a ·man . ~ i u g to the state of his mmch ·, To the :t-olnptuary it. isna scene of, animal. wa,tifieiation; to the W41rldting it· ie a:scene fut-, ,baiter; ,to the poet it is l:iel\uty ;A:a tiheiphilosopberl it'is a IIChool; to•the;l!ll.int itcis •a temple. Change• sinrier's,,oiind, and: yooi cl:iange:the world ·ii>. him. He,ifeels, amh1ometimes says, i"·The,.wor-ld is a new·ihing t(Hne-,.,a. new heaven a.nd a. new earth.'?I Let ·the men who now· people this ll'tbrld'.com•dw:k ta tun a ~ootr st:am; posSlJBl!ing •a thorough: :SYmplthy with eaclI .ethm>': tlm'Univetse, andeho. ',' Will ootlrt.he•heavens and lihe' earth: be -new to:,therri?: W!ilbnol; -aU mture appear entirely ditrerenti to what 'it was when they lived here, the· cree.tu.ms ·(ff bnpei);. feciioii and Bin·?,, Give i:he. BOul new moral senses, and y.on will giw \he:ma.teria.l. universe new attributes. · . i, ~,. .,,r -.,. '"Jfr,TIMlll· rl w:n;.i;:•·.BB' 'K''BT:&Jl'E- ·,WIDELY ;DJll'FERDic;I'' HOllr/ 'AU "Rlt.l:CO:DHIG -ONiEs. 1, ·7'J.,;tJiffweme ::will nrise from. tlM fl-bllfflve q/llame. tlugs ,whit,A were id'ffltfji11rl willi of& the~y,,«Jedi11g Btat6I. 'fhere• are· thre&: things· mentioned here a,s, being absi;nt from this state. (1) Agitution. ~•No mote ,sea" (vennl}. 1'he sea ds here, undoubtedly, usal,Ucan.emblem of· commotion and distress:; U is·never 11.t rest.r '.l'he atmosphere may sink int.o, passivity ;•-no breeze may. stir its· heart.; the clouds may-rest on"it.s ·quiet bosom, a.nd the trees ma.y sleep in its calm embra.ce. Night outspreads her •·Bable mantle over; the world, and all the busy tribes· of·earth ·a.nd air •,aink•;to repose. But for the sea. there is no rest; wave succeeds wave; a restleis·pu1se·tbroba thi"iJugh all its particles. ·This is a tru(!iemblem of whKt the hun;ran· world ·basubeew ever. ainM ·the introduction of sin, Billow after..billow of p~riful, tliGli.ght. and· feeliag hlili been 111mging in rapid succession o'l'!er the spirits of men \Brough all ,preoediiig'll;imes.· But now there is:.no 'f.a,a;!1 , ./l'heChureh, agitatedcby, the·starms ofiag~'is.a.t•resi/,': .All t:00 eI.moots of mental •agitatiGn ,will 1be·exohiH.etl from heaven, · •Wchat are they-?,, .P.'l'irie,·:ambitifm, s ~ relJfflge.;~"'./eilr, envg, gtt,ill. Tb.ale lasli th:e.aool iailo;stormy, billows now; But in the final state these will not be--there will be "no more sea.;'<' i1 ,:A.lnother thing mentimedlas heirlg aosent is: {2) .Death. "And there shall be.no more:death:f'.(ver. 4). Death has been the terror of all pr-eoeding ipelioda; it has!mgaed· t.hrongh aJL :But thertri:&'n6t death 'in this 6ml:statie. Deathc.beds, fuoeml:proce111iion11r,ecemeteries,,are not known there. (3) Suffering. "Neither sorrow, nor crying, nei'tlier aha).Hhere be any moui painr'1:("8r. ·.4); · :Allt· the!J& <&re excluded for. ever 'from this final state. : 2. Tl,u:dijfrnNJ1Jwlll arit6 from the rpriu1mC6· of ,BfYIIIJ6,thfng• which btsve -not ·ieen in dm- MCROJI fllithi-y ~<izveg sta:leii.' -d.Vhat are,theyflu '(l) .ll:full manifllllt<Uion qf(JrJ. ".An.d;,liJ:ob.D•s:u'I' the,ho\.y'iiltj-,1'-etc. (ver. 2). , Jerasailem,wa.s the special:fesidence .of God, and the soene where his glory was displayed. The language, therefore; implies a fuU ma.nifeE>ta.tion of God. (2) A perfect fellowship with God. The fellowship will be: J)jra ·God hilmsel/, with thetn I 'not thro~ mediwna.. Permaflfflt. He will ... dwell witq them" (ver. 3). . . : ' ;, Lha•et wit. g~ -bN-vit.f; ~mu-ed .toe porkay :~e epochs- which •~ tlilidoaed w· tlie- · ireceRing: ohapoori ?imd venies , berore '11&-ihe ;ejiooh& · tht®gh"; 'Wbidil .ltiil•w~ humanity ha& to pass. -,J .belwve that this is a oon;~ intorpretatwJI. c1,Uhia ~ ' Buti were it mit;so, .the skeWi is ,uill true. The agea l: bate mentl.oneil, a,e,ape .t~ belong:t.oredeemed huma.nity. ~e nm we are pa,ssing througl,' now; and th..._1!93i, though the nearest lie iinm'eaaarably «ijstant, an: appi?tiachiug with .-the maroh, Ill ti~ l'iiGeed. ,these· epoc.hs dawn in ·evay reaeemed· soot Our ,int; IAage:in_. the·Difble jfe is '«lli.:flict; then a partial triumph,; then, perhaps~ a'reaotion ~ .then 1htU'6~0P,, an,d then: the unending .bleBliWnill!I. ·. May this'UDendiilg-bleuediiesa. bll tliiine;,iftly, frieu.d:l-0., T. -· · · '" ·- · ·, · · · . - · , i• 1'',:: ·7···: -