Return soon, Lord Jesus, return soon.

Revelation 22  -

VERSE 18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:  19.   And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

(Excerpt taken from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)

What is it to add to, or take from, the book of this prophecy? Let it be borne in mind that it is the book of this prophecy, or the Revelation, which is the subject of remark; hence the words concerning adding to or taking from have exclusive reference to this book. Nothing can be called an addition to this book except something added to it with the intention of having it considered as a genuine part of the book of Revelation. To take from the book would be to suppress some portion of it. As the book of Revelation could not be called an addition to the book of Daniel, so if God should see fit to make further revelations to us by his Spirit, it would be no addition to the book of Revelation, unless it should claim to be a part of that book.

VERSE 20. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  21.   The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

The word of God is given to instruct us in reference to the plan of salvation. The second coming of Christ is to be the climax and completion of that great scheme. It is most appropriate, therefore, that the book should close with the solemn announcement, "Surely I come quickly." Be it ours to join with fervent hearts in the response of the apostle, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

Thus closes the volume of inspiration, - closes with that which constitutes the best of all promises, and the substance of the Christian's hope - the return of Christ. Then shall the elect be gathered, and bid a long farewell to all the ills of this mortal life. How rich in all that is precious to the Christian

p 775 -- is this promise! Wandering an exile in this evil world, separated from the few of like precious faith, he longs for the companionship of the righteous, the communion of saints. Here he shall obtain it; for all the good shall be gathered, not from one land only, but from all lands; not from one age only, but from all ages, - the great harvest of all the good, coming up in long and glorious procession, while angels shout the harvest home, and the timbrels of heaven sound forth in joyous concert; and a song before unheard, unknown, in the universe, the song of the redeemed, shall add its marvelous notes of rapture and melody to the universal jubilee. So shall the saints be gathered, to be joyful in each other's presence forever and ever, -

"While the glory of God, like a molten sea,

Bathes the immortal company."

This gathering has nothing in it but that which is desirable. The saints can but sigh and pray for it. Like Job, they cry out for the presence of God. Like David, they cannot be satisfied till they awake in his likeness. In this mortal condition we groan, being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon. We can but be "upon tiptoe" for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. Our eyes are open for its visions, our ears are waiting to catch the sounds of the heavenly music, and our hearts are beating in anticipation of its infinite joy. Our appetites are growing sharp for the marriage supper. We cry out for the living God, and long to come into his presence. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. No news more welcome than the announcement that the command has gone forth from the Lord to his angels, Gather together unto me my elect from the four winds of heaven.

The place, of gathering has nothing but attraction. Jesus, the fairest among ten thousand, is there. The throne of God and the Lamb, in the glory of which the sun disappears as the stars vanish in the light of day, is there. The city of jasper and gold, whose builder and maker is God, is there. The river of life, sparkling with the glory of God and flowing from his throne in infinite purity and peace, is there. The tree of

p 776 -- life, with its healing leaves and life-giving fruit, is there. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Noah, Job, and Daniel, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, the perfection of heavenly society, will be there. Visions of beauty are there; fields of living green, flowers that never fade, streams that never dry, products in variety that never ends, fruits that never decay, crowns that never dim, harps that know no discord, and all else of which a taste purified from sin and raised to the plane of immortality, can form any conception or think desirable, will be there.

We must be there. We must bask in the forgiving smiles of God, to whom we have become reconciled, and sin no more; we must have access to that exhaustless fount of vitality, the fruit of the tree of life, and never die; we must repose under the shadow of its leaves, which are for the service of the nations, and never again grow weary; we must drink from the life-giving fountain, and thirst nevermore; we must bathe in its silvery spray, and be refreshed; we must walk on its golden sands, and feel that we are no longer exiles; we must exchange the cross for the crown, and feel that the days of our humiliation are ended; we must lay down the staff and take the palm branch, and feel that the journey is done; we must put off the rent garments of our warfare for the white robes of triumph, and feel that the conflict is ended and the victory gained; we must exchange the toil-worn, dusty girdle of our pilgrimage for the glorious vesture of immortality, and feel that sin and the curse can never more pollute us. O day of rest and triumph, and every good, delay not thy dawning! Let the angels at once be sent to gather the elect. Let the promise be fulfilled which bears in its train these matchless glories. EVEN S0, C0ME LORD JESUS. 

*******

Come Lord Jesus please! PLEASE!

Live for eternity, not the temporary.

Revelation 22

 VERSE 16. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

(Excerpt taken from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)

Jesus testifies these things in the churches, showing that the whole book of Revelation is given to the seven churches, which is another incidental proof that the seven churches are representatives of the church through the entire gospel dispensation. Christ is the offspring of David, in that he appeared on earth in the line of David's descendants. He is the root of David, inasmuch as he is the great prototype of David, and the maker and upholder of all things.

VERSE 17. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

(Excerpt taken from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)

Thus are all invited to come. The Lord's love for mankind would not be satisfied in merely preparing the blessings of eternal life, opening the way to them, and announcing that all might come who would; but he sends out an earnest invitation to come. He sets it forth as a favor done to himself if persons will come and partake of the infinite blessings provided by his infinite love. His invitation, how gracious! how full! how free! None of those who are finally lost will ever have occasion to complain that the provisions made for their salvation were not sufficiently ample. They can never reasonably object that the light given to show them the way of life was not sufficiently clear. They can never excuse themselves on the ground that the invitations and entreaties that Mercy has given them to turn and live, were not sufficiently full and free. From the very beginning, there has been a power exerted as strong

p 771 -- as could be exerted and still leave man his own free agent, - a power to draw him heavenward, and raise him from the abyss into which he has fallen. Come! has been the entreaty of the Spirit from the lips of God himself, from the lips of his prophets, from the lips of his apostles, and from the lips of his Son, even while, in his infinite compassion and humility, he was paying the debt of our transgression. 

The last message of mercy as it is now going forth, is another and final utterance of divine long-suffering and compassion. Come, is the invitation it gives. Come, for all things are ready. And the last sound that will fall from Mercy's lips on the ear of the sinner ere the thunders of vengeance burst upon him, will be the heavenly invitation, Come. So great is the loving-kindness of a merciful God to rebellions man. Yet they will not come. Acting independently and deliberately, they refuse to come. So when they shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and themselves thrust out, they will have no one to accuse, no one to blame, but their own selves. They will be brought to feel this in all its bitterness; for the time will come when Pollok's thrilling description of the condemnation of the lost will be true to the letter: -

"And evermore the thunders murmuring spoke

From out the darkness, uttering loud these words,

Which every guilty conscience echoed back:

'Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.'

Dread words! that barred excuse, and threw the weight

Of every man's perdition on himself

Directly home -

'Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not."'

The bride also says, Come. But the bride is the city, and how does that say, Come? If we could be strengthened to behold the living glories of that city and live, and should be permitted to gaze upon its dazzling beauty, and be assured that we had a perfect right to enter therein, and bathe in that ocean of bliss and blessedness, and revel in its glory forever and ever, would it not then say to us, Come, with a persuasion which no power could resist? Who of us, in view of this, could turn away, and say, I have no desire for an inheritance there?

p 772 --

(picture omitted)

p 773 -- But though we cannot now look upon that city, the unfailing word of God has promised it, and that is sufficient to inspire us with implicit and living faith; and through the channel of that faith it says to us, Come. Come, if you would inherit mansions where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death can never enter; if you would have a right to the tree of life, and pluck its immortal fruit, and eat and live; if you would drink of the water of the river of life, that flows from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Come, if you would obtain through those glittering gates of pearl an abundant entrance into the eternal city; if you would walk its streets of transparent gold; if you would behold its glowing foundation stones; if you would see the King in his beauty on his azure throne. Come, if you would sing the jubilee song of millions, and share their joy. Come, if you would join the anthems of the redeemed with their melodious harps, and know that your exile is forever over, and this is your eternal home. Come, if you would receive a palm of victory, and know that you are forever free. Come, if you would exchange the furrows of your care-worn brow for a jeweled crown. Come, if you would see the salvation of the ransomed myriads, the glorified throng which no man can number. Come, if you would drink from the pure fountain of celestial bliss, if you would shine as the stars forever in the firmament of glory, if you would share in the unutterable rapture that fills the triumphant hosts as they behold before them unending ages of glory ever brightening and joys ever new.

The bride does say, Come. Who of us can resist the invitation? The word of truth is pledged to us that if we keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, we shall have right to the tree of life, we shall enter in through the gates into the city. And we shall feel that we are at home in our Father's house, the very mansions prepared for us, and realize the full truth of the cheering words, "Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." Rev. 19:9. 

"Let him that heareth say, Come." We have heard of the glory, of the beauty, of the blessings, of that goodly land, and we say, Come. We have heard of the river with its verdant banks, of the tree with its healing leaves, of the ambrosial

p 774 -- bowers that bloom in the Paradise of God, and we say, Come. Whosoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely.

*******

Temporary to eternity- this is the measure we must make constantly.

Jesus came to bring the good news of SALVATION- the promise of eternity.

Jesus DIED to give us SALVATION- the promise of eternity.

We are to live - Christ in us- and Christ is the gospel giver.

We are to be gospel givers.

We are to be the heralds of salvation promise in Christ.

We are to LIVE with that promise- Eternity- SALVATION- ever before us!

All the earthly trappings that would drag us down and keep us tethered here are TEMPORARY to eternity!

The earth as it is ruled by Satan is a sinking ship but no ordinary sinking ship. This ship has many hideaways for people to run to where they think they will be saved from drowning. The doors open and people see what they believe is a safe place, so they run inside and start clinging to their various  security blankets. Then the doors shut and they continue to go down with the ship, happily oblivious to their drowning until its way too late to do anything about it. Satan wants us CLINGING to this earth's many enticing trappings. It doesn’t matter what form a person's trapping takes, Satan LOVES to personalize them. He will study what concerns you most, and boy, will he use that as he personalizes your trap. The things your heart clings to he will use, and even if they are what we consider good things, he will twist it up so that good thing becomes one of several nooses he is slipping about your neck. He loves when we make excuses and choose anything before God, before the salvation plan- Jesus Christ.  Truly can we forsake ALL for Christ? Abraham was asked to sacrifice what he loved the most in all the world. Why do we think we are special and that we won't be called to make the choice of God over whatever it is we love most in this world? Abraham did NOT have to sacrifice what he loved most, but he was put to the test. We are all put to the test. Do we really believe everything here and now is temporary to eternity? Everything but love, our God's love, which He will give to us and use us by His grace to give that love to others.  Our houses, our cars, our computers, tablets, tvs, pets, loved ones, jobs, past times all temporary to eternity. Even we in these bodies we currently possess are temporary to eternity. The fancy hair do we sport, the great lengths we go to in order to appear in a certain way, temporary. No, I'm not saying to throw everything away and stop grooming and dressing yourself, NOT AT ALL!  I'm saying we NEED to put all those things in their PROPER perspective, TEMPORARY TO ETERNITY.  Meaning, NONE of those things should mean more to us than the ETERNITY offered to us by God through Jesus Christ.  And we need to have our sights set on that eternity. Jesus preached eternity during His entire ministry and wanted His followers to do the same- live with His message of eternity.  You don't hide what's most important to you if what's most important to you wants you to share what's most important so others will also come to hold it as most important in their lives too.  While all these temporary things may hold parts of our hearts, the things that mean the most will, by the grace of God, be a part of eternity.  Some people joke about things like- if there is no chocolate in heaven then I don't want to go- but what they don't realize is there is something MUCH better than chocolate in heaven, so much better we can't begin to fully comprehend how wonderful it is.

By the grace of God we will live for eternity not for the temporary.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever.

Amen.

Will you be inside or outside of the city?

Revelation 22 VERSE 13. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.  14.    Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Revelation 22  VERSE 15. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Inside the city or outside of the city…

Inside they keep the commandments of God and through God they have the right to the tree of life. Outside they DO NOT keep the commandments of God, and they have NO right to the tree of life. Outside they are dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters, and those who LOVE and MAKE lies.

This is TRUTH!

All those who will NOT be in heaven, all those who will not love, will not have the right to the tree of life. 

You don't have to be a dog, a murderer, a sorcerer, a whoremonger, an idolaters- all you have to be is a liar and one who loves lies.

Who loves lying? Most would say they don't, but be honest. It's not easy NOT to lie. I'm talking about lying about ANYTHING. Even the tiny littlest lies.

You are asked how you are, and you are anything but fine, and you say you are fine- a lie.  You are  asked to do something you really don't want to do but you say you do want to- a lie.  These lies are labeled- WHITE LIES, these lies are labeled - CHARITABLE LIES.  These lies are spoken NOT to hurt someone's feelings, to spare someone from emotional pain. Are they good lies? Is there such a thing as a good lie? I want to say no, but then I read this--

1Sa 21:12  And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath.

1Sa 21:13  And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.

1Sa 21:14  Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me?

1Sa 21:15  Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?

Feigned- David pretended to be something other than he was. David lived a lie of himself as being someone he wasn't.

Gen 12:11  And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon:

Gen 12:12  Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.

Gen 12:13  Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.

Abraham told Sarah to lie.  Did it work out well? No, especially not for the pharaoh. 

Lying is done, lying may have its place, I don't know, honestly I don't not in these circumstances.  Are circumstances considered? Is there charitable and white lying?  Satan is the FATHER of lies-

Joh 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Do we DARE risk lying? Do we dare risk being of the devil, of having the devil as our father and not God?

We read this--

Joh_1:47  Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

1Pe_3:10  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile

Rev_14:5  And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

Being without guile is being without lying,  without deceiving.

Please, Father, please help us be without any guile! Help us not be of the devil and liars like He is! Please, Lord, bless us and keep us in YOU and Your word!

Please, we would take part in the tree of life with YOU!

By the grace of God may we be YOURS! Please, make us YOURS we surrender to YOU and YOUR will, and help us to surrender whatever we hold back. Please

By YOUR grace, YOUR love, in the name of our SAVIOR, Jesus Christ our LORD now and forever!

AMEN.

Blessed are they that do his commandments

Revelation 22 VERSE 13. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.  14.    Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

(Excerpt taken from Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)

Christ here applies to himself the appellation of Alpha and Omega. As applied to him, the expression must be taken in a more limited sense than when applied to the Father, as in chapter 1:8. Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, of the great plan of salvation.

Verse 14, as before noticed, is the language of Christ. The commandments of which he speaks are his Father's. Reference can be had only to the ten commandments as delivered on Mount Sinai, He pronounces a blessing upon those who keep them. Thus in the closing chapter of the word of God, and near the very close of the last testimony which the faithful and true Witness there left for his people, he solemnly pronounces a blessing upon those who keep the commandments of God. Let those who believe in the abolition of the law, candidly consider the decisive bearing of this important fact. 

Instead of the reading, "Blessed are they that do his commandments," some translations, including the Revised Version, have, "Blessed are they that wash their robes." On this point Alford's Testament for English Readers has this note:       "The difference in the readings is curious, being in the original that between poiountes tas entolas autou, and plunontes tas stolas auton, either of which might easily be mistaken for the other."       In view of this statement, it is not surprising, perhaps, that this difference of reading is found. But there seems to be good evidence that the first is the original, from which the latter is a variation by the error of transcribers. Thus the Syriac New Testament, one of the very earliest translations from the original Greek, reads according to the common English version. And Cyprian, whose writings antedate any extant Greek manuscript (Ante-Nicene Library, Vol. XIII, p. 122), quotes the text as reading,        "Blessed are they that do his commandments."       We may therefore safely consider this as the genuine reading.

*******

Jesus said these words-

Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

And then we read…

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Our Savior's reward is with Him.

Every man will receive according to work.

If our work is to worship, then we obey the commandments through our worship, through Christ!

If we do not worship, our work will reflect that, and our Savior cannot know us if we do not know Him through our worship.

Keeping the commandments are important and our God did NOT leave us without the ability to discern them through His word.  Our heavenly Father went to great lengths to give us the knowledge of His commandments. And yes, we should study them once more, by the grace and will of God!

If we are blessed if we read the prophecies of the book of Revelation, and keep the sayings there in, we are doubly blessed if we are told we are bless if we DO His commandments.

Please Father, please open our hearts, our minds, our spirit to Your truths, the truth in Your commandments!

In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord, help us, enlighten us!

Amen!

Our work- worship.

Revelation 22 verse 4. And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

The word his, in the sentence, "And they shall see his face," refers to the Father; for he is the one whose name is in their foreheads; and that it is the Father, we learn from chapter 14:1. This will be a fulfilment of the promise in Matt. 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God."

******* By HIS grace!

VERSE 5. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.    6.    And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.    7.    Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

*******

BLESSED is he that KEEPETH the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Blessed.

We need to KEEP the sayings of the prophecy in this book of Revelation!

We need to study them, know them, understand them, we need to do all this in order to keep them.  How can you keep something if you don't know what you're keeping?  Sure someone could hand you a box, tell you not to open it and just keep it for them and you might do that and you wouldn't know what you are keeping other than a box. Jesus goes to great lengths to give us these prophecies, and HE know how limited our understanding can be. He knows there are some who are teachers, and other who are not. He knows that we aren't all teachers and we don't all have the ability to comprehend as a teacher might. He will not leave us in the dark. If we learn these prophecies, HE WILL give us comprehension when we need comprehension.  So even if we've learned NOTHING from all this studying of Revelation, a study we began back in September 2015…four months ago, we are trying to learn aren't we? We need the blessing!

VERSE 8. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.    9.    Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this

p 768 -- book: worship God.    10.    And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.    11.    He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.    12.    And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

*******

WORSHIP GOD!

Do we worship God?

'Keep the sayings of this book: worship God.'

God will do all for us that we need done, we need to worship Him!

There will come a time when this will be done-  'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.'  'He which is filthy let him be filthy still.' 'He that is righteous, let him be righteous still.' 'He that is holy, let him be holy still.'

These are words that will be uttered when probation is over for us all.

I don't know about you, but if you're like me then you want to be among those who are righteous still and holy still, and ONLY by the grace of our God will this be so!

The city all of Christ's pilgrims look for.

Revelation 22 VERSE 3. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.

*******

No more curse.

Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

No more curse. The throne of God, and the throne of the Lamb will be in the new city, New Jerusalem and WE will serve them!  The NEW JERUSALEM! 

We talk about the earthly Jerusalem and truly the people of Jerusalem in Jesus' day- the Israelites- were left desolate when they rejected Jesus.  Jerusalem, the earthly city since early in the first century was no longer in Israelites hands, the Gentiles over took Jerusalem and until 1948 it remained in their hands. Jerusalem is a land in contention- three main faiths desire Jerusalem- Jews, Christians, and Catholics.  Jerusalem the earthly city will NEVER be where God chooses to meet with His people ever again. He meets His people through Jesus Christ our Savior! No longer does He dwell in a temple between the two cherubim's. He is the Heavenly Temple, and He will return to earth and after 1000 years in the NEW JERUSALEM.  The NEW JERUSALEM, a heavenly city come down to earth! This is the city Abraham looked for! This is the city ALL of God's people upon earth look for!

Heb 11:8  By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.

Heb 11:9  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:

Heb 11:10  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

This is the city we long for!

This is the city we wait for!

We are truly pilgrims here! Truly strangers and we are LOOKING for a BETTER city!

Please Lord, though we are completely and utterly unworthy, we fall upon the grace, the mercy of our SAVIOR who alone can save us from ourselves! We are WEAK, we are so sinful! Please, Father, please! Save us undeserving as we are! Forgive us! Please.

Please.

Unjust, filthy - righteous, and holy.

Revelation 22 VERSE 3. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.

This language proves that the great God, the Father, is referred to, as well as the Son. The marks of the curse, the deadly miasma, and the ghastly scenes of desolation and decay, will no more be seen on the earth. Every breeze will be balmy and life-giving, every scene beauty, and every sound music.

VERSE 4. And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

The word his, in the sentence, "And they shall see his face," refers to the Father; for he is the one whose name is in their foreheads; and that it is the Father, we learn from chapter 14:1. This will be a fulfilment of the promise in Matt. 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God."

VERSE 5. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.    6.    And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.    7.    Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Here, again, we have the declaration that there shall be no night in the city; for the Lord God will be the light of the place. Verse 7 proves that Christ is the speaker, a fact which it is of especial importance to bear in mind in connection with verse 14. To keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book is to obey the duties brought to view in connection with the prophecy, as, for instance, in chapter 14:9-12.

VERSE 8. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.    9.    Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this

p 768 -- book: worship God.    10.    And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.    11.    He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.    12.    And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

(For remarks on verse 9, see on chapter 19:10.) In verse 10 John is told not to seal the sayings of the prophecy of this book. The popular theology of our day says that the book is sealed. One of two things follows from this:   either John disobeyed his instructions, or the theology above referred to is fulfilling Isa. 29:10-14. Verse 11 proves that probation closes, and the cases of all are unalterably fixed, before the coming of Christ; for in the very next verse Christ says, "Behold, I come quickly." What dangerous and insane presumption, then, to claim, as age-to-come believers do, that there will be probation even after that event! Christ's reward is with him, to give every man as his work shall be, which is another conclusive proof that there can be no probation after that event; for all the living wicked, those "who know not God," the heathen, and those "who obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ," the sinners of Christian lands (2 Thess. 1:8), will be visited with swift destruction from Him who then comes in flaming fire to take vengeance on his foes.

The declaration of verse 11 marks the close of probation, which is the close of Christ's work as mediator. But we are taught by the subject of the sanctuary that this work closes with the examination of the cases of the living in the investigative judgment. When this is accomplished, the irrevocable fiat can be pronounced. But when the cases of the living are reached in the work of judgment, we apprehend that what remains to be done will be so speedily accomplished that all these cases may almost be said to be decided simultaneously. We have therefore no occasion to speculate as to the order of work among the living; that is, whose cases will be decided first, and whose last, nor whether or not it will be known that any are decided before all is finished.

*******

I will study this more in depth tomorrow by the grace of God.

In His love always!