Revelation 1

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Revelation 1:1 (RVENDAG_)

CHAPTER 1 REVELATION

THE REVELATION OF JESUS TO HIS CHURCH

PRINCIPLES, INDIVIDUALS, UNDER DISCUSSION

"All Christian people credit the book of Revelation to our Lord, as St. John does (Rev. 1:1). Therefore we are not responsible for the symbolism used in that book. There are so many ways in which one might be misunderstood, even by good Christian people, that we naturally feel a delicacy about expressing our views. As we proceed to set forth our understanding of the symbols of the Revelation, we wish to state most emphatically that we are saying nothing whatever against godly Christians anywhere, at any time, whether in any church or out of any church. We have nothing to say respecting people. We discuss PRINCIPLES, DOCTRINES, ALWAYS; individuals, NEVER! God has not commissioned us to discuss people; it is ours to discuss His Word.

"As we present our interpretation of the symbols of Revelation, we realize that the word of God conveys a very terrible arraignment of some of the great systems of our day... Let us, therefore, clearly distinguish between individuals and systems. We say nothing against the godly individual, but in the interpretation of the Word of God what we have to say is merely in respect to these systems. Indeed, we believe that the saintly people of God are left out of these symbols, probably because the saints of God, as compared with the hundreds of millions of humanity, are merely a small company, as Jesus said: ‘Fear not, Little Flock.’ " D 1912 Foreword v; OV270

"Our Lord spent the three and a half years of his ministry in gathering out from Israel, and in training and instructing, the few disciples who should form the nucleus of the Christian Church. When about to leave them alone in the world he gave them the promise of the holy Spirit, which, during the entire age, should guide the Church into all truth, and show them things to come, and bring freshly to remembrance what he had taught—which promise began to be verified at Pentecost. It is also written that the angels are all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to these heirs of this great salvation (Heb. 1:14), and that our Lord’s special care is over them, even to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:20). All the writings of the apostles are addressed to the Church, and not to the world, as many seem to think; and they are full of special instructions, encouragements and exhortations, needful only to the saints who during this age are walking

1 in the narrow way. And our Lord’s Revelation, which God gave him after he had passed into glory, he sent and signified (sign-ified— told in signs, symbols, etc.) to his Church, through his servant John (Rev. 1:1). We are also told that the prophecies given aforetime by holy men of old were given, not for themselves, nor for others of their day and age, but exclusively for the instruction of the Christian Church—1 Peter 1:12. B203 Le 8,9,16 —TABERNACLE TYPES AND SHADOWS OF THE BETTER SACRIFICES. "... The whole Jewish nation, during that entire age, was unwittingly engaged, under God’s direction, in furnishing for our instruction a typical view of the entire plan of salvation in all its workings... its Jubilees pointing out the final consummation of the plan in the blessing of all the families of the earth... Since such has been God’s care and abundant provision for the Christian Church above all other people of past and future ages, how important in his estimation must that knowledge be to us, and how eagerly should we avail ourselves of it." B203

"THEY SING THE SONG OF MOSES THE SERVANT OF GOD, AND THE SONG OF THE LAMB, SAYING, GREAT AND MARVELOUS ARE THY WORKS, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY; JUST AND TRUE ARE THY WAYS, THOU KING OF SAINTS"—REVELATION 15:3. See Luke 2:13-14.

"Jehovah thy God in the midst of thee... will joy over thee with SINGING"—Zephaniah 3:17.

"For the Word of God is quick and powerful (living and energetic), and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart"—Hebrews 4:12.

JESUS SAID, "THE WORDS THAT I SPEAK UNTO YOU, THEY ARE SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE LIFE"—John 6:63.

"And all the people went their way... to make great mirth (great joy—L.), because they had understood the words that were declared unto them”—Nehemiah 8:12.

"... And send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared... for the joy of the Lord is your strength"—Nehemiah 8:10.

"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from Heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from Heaven.

For the Bread of God is he which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world" (John 6:32-R33).

”In all respects Christ is the center which God has provided—‘THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE.’ ‘’‘ 14-R5506 to R5508 "Divine mercy will be OF the Father and BY the Son and through the Church"—1 Corinthians 8:6. ‘09-R4464 "We have found the great Life-giver, the One who can and does supply this Bread from heaven. It is our great privilege to be the dispensers of this Bread. ‘Give ye them to eat.’ ‘He that bath an ear let him hear.’ "‘ 04-R3334

THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM—Rev. 22:1-11 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne"—Rev. 3:21.

"All those who would be finally accounted worthy of a share in the Kingdom, must be copies of God’s dear Son—in heart, in character, and like Him also in the resurrection, spirit-beings. This is a glorious predestination. It assures us that God will have none others in the Kingdom than those who are character likenesses of Jesus." ‘16-R5838 "The first three chapters of Revelation, containing the messages to the churches... suggest nothing to the effect that the church is now reigning, but, quite to the contrary, that it will be a suffering church down to the very last. It promises a coming reign to those who faithfully endure the trials of the present time preceding the reign. Each one of the messages closes with an exhortation, ‘To him that overcometh, I will grant,’ etc.

"All the intervening chapters between the third and the twentieth deal with conflicts between good and evil, and evidently cover the entire period of this Gospel age; yet in all of these presentations the evil is shown to be triumphant, and the people of the saints of the Most High God are worn out and cry from under the altar, etc. (Rev. 6:9,10). Not much a reign of righteousness that, surely; and how thinking people close their minds to all this is passing strange.

"It is at the conclusion of this book of symbols, from the eighteenth to the twenty-second chapters, that the close of this Gospel age and the inauguration of the Millennial age is pictured, and the triumph of the Lord and of his saints is shown. The introduction of that reign of righteousness, Christ’s Millennial kingdom, is shown, marked by wonderful events connected with our Lord’s second advent, the glorification of his church, the binding of Satan, the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, the blessing of the world, the scattering of its darkness, ignorance, etc. One would think that, even with no knowledge of the symbols of Revelation, no thinking Christian should have any difficulty in realizing that the book portrays trouble for the church throughout this Gospel age: and the triumphant Millennial reign at its close." ‘05-R3570

"I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth"—Psalm 40:10.

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"Bible prophecies are rarely understood much in advance of their fulfillment." ‘16-R5842

"That we are living ‘in the last days’—’the day of the Lord’—’the end of the Gospel age,’and consequently, in the dawn of the ‘new’ age, are facts not only discernible by the close student of the Word, led by the spirit, but the out ward signs recognizable by the ‘world’ bear the same testimony, and we are desirous that the ‘household of faith’ be fully awake to the fact that—

"We are living, we are dwelling In a grand and awful time;

In an age on ages telling To be living is sublime.’

"When God has given us ‘a sure word of prophecy whereunto we do well to take heed,’ and when ‘the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done,’ shall those servants feel under no obligaton to seek to understand those heavenly messages?

"Or shall we heed God who declares ‘these sayings faithful and true’ and says: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein?’ Surely he knows what is best calculated to inspire ‘a zeal according to knowledge, and what is necessary that we ‘be not soon shaken in mind’ "—Rev. 21:5 23:6 1:3 Ro 10:2 2Th 2:2. ‘79-R3.

"The Apostle John was the most remarkable seer, or prophet of all the apostles: his visions constituting the Book of Revelation, delineating in the most remarkable manner the ‘things to come.’ " F 222-F223—John 16:13.

"God has provided for his children a clear and connected record down to the present time. The Bible... carries us from the lost paradise of Genesis to the restored paradise of Revelation, tracing the pathway of humanity into eternity. Taken together, the history and prophecy of the Bible afford a panoramic view of the whole course of events from the creation and fall of man to his reconciliation and restitution." B38.

THE LAST BOOK OF THE BIBLE, FOR THE LAST END OF THE GOSPEL AGE.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ Anointed, which God gave unto him (after his ascension) to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signfied (sign-i-fied) by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. "( Revelation 1:1-3).

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST—ANOINTED—WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM

Isaiah 61:1-3: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord bath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek: He hath sent me...’

"The word anointed is used in the sense of ordination. The high priests of Israel were successively anointed, or ordained, of God, the anointing oil representing the holy Spirit. Their kings were anointed to reign over the typical kingdom of God... And so Christ, the great High priest and King, was ordained of God by the anointing of the Spirit. It was not an anointing of men or by men.

WHICH GOD GAVE UNTO HIM

"When our Lord came to John at Jordan to be baptized, and there presented himself in sacrifice to God, the divine acceptance of this sacrifice was manifested by the impartation of the holy Spirit. John the Baptist saw the Spirit as a dove descending upon the Lord, the sign given to John, but seen by no one else. Jesus recognized that he had received a special anointing and unction from the Father—and others from that time perceived it... As a perfect man he possessed the Spirit of God in the full measure that a man in the image of God would possess it.

"Full manhood under the law was not attained until the age of thirty. Our Lord came to give his life as a substitute for the forfeited life of Adam. Adam was a complete, perfect man, and our Lord must attain maturity as a perfect man before he could be a perfect substitute, a corresponding price... Jesus’ merit is all-sufficient, and it is his merit that purchases the world, through his body, the church.

"The anointing that was upon Christ Jesus continued with him throughout his earthly ministry—the fullness, or completeness, of God’s favor rested upon his every word and act. God was manifest in his flesh; for he was the perfect human representation of all the qualities of Jehovah’s glorious character. This was demonstrated in his resurrection from the dead after his sacrifice had been finished ... Jesus was begotten of the holy Spirit and anointed at his baptism, and was born a completed spirit being of the very highest rank at his resurrection. No other being had ever been created on this plane of life. Hitherto Jehovah alone had possessed divine, incorruptible life." ‘14-R5536

AT THE VISION OF CHRIST’S TRANSFIGURATION

"Our Lord Jesus Christ... received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; ‘HEAR YE HIM’. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.’ ‘And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead’ {2Pe 1:16-18’ Mt 17:5,9}. Please see end page of TRUE HUMILITY, in the Supplement.

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy. " 2Pe 1:19.

"And He saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this Book: for the time is at hand"—Rev. 22:10.

"What thou seest, write in a book, and send it... " Re 1:11.

"For I testify unto every one that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this Book, if any... shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written

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in this Book: And if any one 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"—Revelation 22:18, 19

VERSE 1 "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear (understand, akouo) the words of this prophecy, and keep (tereo, observe, hold fast—Y., S.—"and keeping strictly the things which have been written in it"—Diag.) those things which are written therein: FOR THE TIME IS AT HAND"—Revelation 1:3.

This remarkable Revelation of God to our Lord Jesus was not given to him while here in the flesh, though he was a new creature with spiritual understanding. It shows that God dispenses his Light or Truth according to his plan, which contains times and seasons: reminding us of what came to our Lord at his baptism; when the heavens were opened to him, and gave to him the key to understand God’s will concerning his work and place in the Divine Plan of the Ages as contained in the Tabernacle Types of Leviticus, chapters eight, nine, and sixteen—that sent him to profound study. See versed; Rev. 21:14.

"Call unto Me, and I will answer thee and shew thee great and mighty (hidden) things which thou knowest not"—Jeremiah 33:3.

"My doctrine, teaching, is not mine, but His that sent me"—John 7:16.

"How beautiful it is to realize that the perfect Jesus was humble, and that all the holy angels are so!’ ‘12-R5029

The Word of God is powerful and sharper than a two edged sword"—Heb. 4:12.

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him"—"invite him"—John 6:37, 44. Photo Drama Scenario pg. PD27.

"Jehovah bath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all"—Psalm 107:19.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy bath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time... receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls... as obedient children... because it is written (Leviticus 11:44), Be ye holy; for I am holy... redeemed... with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." 1Pe 1:3-5,9,14,16,18-23.

"... Such a calling should cause us to bow our hearts in the dust before our God, realizing our great unworthiness of such stupendous grace—of bliss so transcendent! What can we render unto the Lord that can fittingly demonstrate our gratitude, our thankfulness, for so unspeakable a favor? Surely, the most faithful service we can give is but a very feeble return to Him who has so loved us, so blessed us, so honored us!" ‘16-R5855

SIMPLICITY OF INTRODUCTION

"Note the simplicity of the Apostle’s introduction to this most wonderful book. He did not write the title of the book as it appears in our Bibles—’The Revelation of St. John the Divine’—that is to say, the Revelation of St. John, Doctor of Divinity, Doctor of Theology. On the contrary, John claims no credit for the revelation; it was not his, but, as he distinctly explains, it was from our Lord Jesus Christ—and to him from the Father. Nor was it even to John in any special sense, but, as he again declares, unto God’s ‘servants’ sent by his ‘servant John.’ This simplicity, common to all the apostles, commends them to us as men of humble minds—the very kind we should expect our Lord to use as special servants and messengers to his people. The apostolic simplicity is in striking contrast with the pomposity of the majority of those who claim to be their pupils and fellow servants, and who delight in the titles of ‘Reverend,’ ‘Right Reverend,’ ‘Very Reverend,’ ‘His Holiness,’ ‘Doctor of Divinity,’ etc. And in proportion as the spirit of the world is quenched by the Spirit of Christ—and in proportion as the Lord’s people are zealous in seeking and finding ‘the old paths’ (Jer. 6:16), in that same proportion do these human titles which seem so much to the world and to Babylon come to appear vain, inappropriate, deceitful." ‘01-R2826 For Scriptural reference to D____ D____ s, see F287.

"But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised ("developed as new creatures in Christ”) to discern both good and evil’—"to discern between truth and error... and uncompromising in declaring it; for ‘if the trumpet give and uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?’ " Heb 5:14 1Co 14:8 ‘15-R5688, R5689

"The messages of our glorious Lord, sent through the Apostle John and given to us in the symbols of the book of Revelation, are as truly the Saviour’s messages as those uttered during his earthly ministry and those subsequently sent us through the apostles.

"The book of Revelation was written at a time when severe persecution was upon the infant church—near the close of the first century, probably A.D. 93-96, in the reign of the Emperor Domitian... It was written at a time of special peril and severe persectuion. For a time the Lord allowed the truth to become well planted and to take root; the gifts of miracles and other gifts in the church at that time assisted in this matter.

4 "For a time, although there were persecutions of individuals such as are recorded in Acts, the believers as a whole were not subjected to the severest of trials at first. It was when the truth began to spread, and had not only the enmity of the Jews, but also of the Greeks, that emperors and governors found favor with the masses by persecuting the followers of Jesus. And for aught we know, so it will be in the not far-distant future. For a long time the pure truth has been hidden from men, and worldliness in the form of godliness has had the upper hand in influential circles: but doubtless, as the troublous times the Scriptures predict for the end of this age draw closer, those who will stand firm for the word of the Lord’s testimony may expect to be made the scapegoats under various pretexts ...

"John, the beloved disciple, in some measure or degree typified or represented the last living members of the little flock. Doubtless this was the meaning of our Lord’s statement, ‘If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?’ John did not tarry, but a class whom he in some respects illustrated are represented to tarry—a class who see with the eyes of their understanding the visions and revelations which John saw in symbols in a trance." ‘05-R3568

Revelation 1

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Revelation 1:2 (RVENDAG_)

Verse 2. Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

John himself was a new creature in Christ, and energized and guided by the holy spirit, to record correctly in writing? what he saw in all its symbols.

"Our Lord uttered one of the most remarkable prophecies of Holy Writ respecting the ‘Time of the End’—the closing epoch of the Gospel age {Mt 24 Mr 13 Lu 21:5-36 17:20-37}. D563 "Our Lord was the greatest of all Prophets.’ D614 (D Chapter 12) "....Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit (power) of prophecy"—Rev. 19:10.

”No other prophet than our Lord has given us the needed details of this ‘harvest’ time, connecting these with the prominent events noted by the other prophets.”D614 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"—Matt. 4:4.

"What did Jesus mean?... He meant that all hope of attaining eternal life depends upon God—upon the Divine Plan and its promises... This is God’s Word... that obedience is the condition of life everlasting—abiding in faith, love and obedience in harmony with Him. "‘ 11-R4896 (Longer quote at Rev. 20:14-15)

”The mark for the prize of the high calling, is that of crystallization of character in the likeness of our Lord." ‘ 12-R5080

"THIS ONE THING I DO"—Phil. 3:13.

"I make everything else bend to this one thing of showing forth God’s praises and of helping others into His marvelous light." ‘12-R5045

"He did it, too, in view of the fact that all through the present life his chosen course would bring certain loss, privation, toil, care, persecution and continual reproach." ‘95- R1885

"Paul evidently had more abundant revelations than any other apostle. These revelations he was not allowed to make known to the Church, nor fully and plainly even to the other apostles {2Co 12:4 Ga 2:2}, yet we can see a value to the entire church in those visions and revelations given to Paul; for though he was not permitted to tell what he saw, nor to particularize all he knew of the mysteries of God relating to the ‘ages to come,’ yet what he saw gave a force, shading and depth of meaning to his words which, in the light of subsequent facts, prophetic fulfilments and the Spirit’s guidance, we are able to appreciate more fully than could the early church.

"As corroborative of the foregoing statement, we call to mind the last book of the Bible—Revelation, written about A.D. 96. The introductory words announce it as a special revelation of things not previously understood. This proves conclusively that up to that time, at least, God’s plan had not been fully revealed. Nor has that book ever been, until now, all that its name implies—an unfolding, a REVELATION. So far as the early church was concerned, probably none understood any part of the book. Even John, who saw the visions, was probably ignorant of the significance of what he saw. He was both a prophet and an apostle; and while as an apostle he understood and taught what was then ‘meat in due season,’ as a prophet he uttered things which would supply ‘meat’ in seasons future for the household.

"During the Christian Age, some of the saints sought to understand the Church’s future by examining this symbolic book, and doubtless all who read and understood even a part of its teachings were blessed as promised (Rev. 1:3). The book kept opening up to such, and in the days of the Reformation was an important aid to Luther in deciding that the Papacy, of which he was a conscientious minister, was indeed the ‘Antichrist’ mentioned by the Apostle, the history of which we now see fills so large a part of that prophecy.

"Thus gradually God opens up his truth and reveals the exceeding riches of his grace; and consequently much more light is due now than at any previous time in the Church’s history. "" And still new beauties shall we see, And still increasing light." Hymn 49, A27-R28.

"I HAVE NOT CONCEALED THY LOVING KINDNESS AND THY TRUTH... "

"Lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Jehovah, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth... " Psalm 40:9,10.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn of me"—Matthew 11:29. "Ask, and ye shall receive that your joy may be full"—John 16:24.

"... Not until we have taken the Lord into our daily life as our living, personal companion and confidential friend and counselor and comforter and guide, as well as our Redeemer and Lord, can we fully learn of him those precious lessons which give to his disciples a joy which the world can neither give nor take away." ‘95-R1789 See Manna June 1.

5 "He that bath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him"—John 14:21.

"This matter of a definite contract with the Lord is a very important one..." ‘14-R5520 2Ti 2:15: "Study to show thyself approved. Study the Word. Study yourself... that you may know both your abilities and your shortcomings. Then study to avoid error and to shun all foolish questions and profane and vain babblings. Remember that only... ‘The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity’—2 Tim. 2:10.

"The Lord giveth his favors to the humble—in God’s appointed way... Cleanse your earthen vessel, that it may be fit for the Master’s use"—"the diligent use of every available means to learn what is his will." ‘02-R3097; ‘14-R5511

Revelation 1

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Revelation 1:3 (RVENDAG_)

Verse 3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear understand the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The Book of Revelation is so full of symbols that many are discouraged even in the reading of it, forgetting the words of our Lord, "He that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." While reading, it is important to include the time, the due time, when it may be understood, as well as the due time for its blessing. So a blessing is promised, to encourage the reading thereof.

"The very reading of it will bring a blessing, and, as its mysteries gradually dissolve, the understanding thereof will bring still additional blessing. Note again in the introduction of the Book the statement of its mysterious and symbolic character. Its name, Revelation, signifies the uncovering, and implies something hidden." OM 7

HEARING AND OBEYING

”Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it"—Luke 11:28.

"It is important that we should hear the Word of the Lord, that we search the Scriptures, that we have them well at our command, that we be able to give an answer to him that asketh us a reason for the hope that is in us, and we need more than all this.

"We need to obey the Word, to practice it to the extent of our ability. True, we cannot come up to the demands of perfection, for God’s law is perfect, but we can have the perfect attitude of heart, and nothing less than this will be acceptable to the Lord. We can show him and to some extent show to others the endeavor of our lives in the direction of righteousness and all the fruits and graces of the holy Spirit. If we had all knowledge and zeal and had not the spirit of obedience it would evidence a lack of the spirit of love, and prove us unworthy of the divine favor and blessings promised to those who are rightly exercised by the message from above." ‘05-R3678

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"—Matthew 7:7.

"We are to ask and seek and knock if we would find the riches of God’s grace, and have opened to us more and more the wonderful privileges and mercies and blessings which he is so willing to give to us as we develop in character and in preparation for his mercies." ‘06-R3807 "Light (truth) is sown for the righteous and gladness (the gladness which comes from a realization of the truth) for the upright in heart"—Psalm 97:11. ‘99-R2453; ‘05-R3648 "Teach me good judgment and knowledge"—Psalm 119:66.

"He that dwelleth in the secret place (of consecration, communion and fellowship) of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty... He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: His Truth shall be thy shield and buckler"—Psalm 91.

"Individual Christians cannot shirk their personal responsibility, placing it upon pastors and teachers, nor upon councils and creeds. It is by the Word of the Lord that we are judged (John 12:48-50; Rev. 20:12), and not by the opinions or precedents of our fellow-men in any capacity. Therefore all should imitate the noble Bereanswho ‘searched the Scriptures daily’ to see if the things taught them were true" (Acts 17:11). D66

ONE IS YOUR TEACHER, EVEN CHRIST

"St. James (3:1-12) is not warning us against service, nor seeking to hinder us from all good works one for the other, as members of the body of Christ. His caution is against our attempting to be (school) masters or teachers. There is but the one Teacher or Schoolmaster for the entire church of Christ for all this age. He is the ‘Head of the church, which is his body’—the Director, Caretaker, Instructor of the ‘members. “ 09-R4380 "All will have in mind that the Lord is the only teacher and that the brethren dare not utter wisdom of their own-; but merely present to others that which their Head sets forth as the Truth. Let us apply this Scripture {1Ti 2:11,12} to the Lord and the Church, thus: ‘Let a church learn in silence with all subjection. I suffer not a church to teach, nor to usurp authority over Christ but to be in silence.’ " F 120. Not "a voluntary humility" which the Apostle decries in Col. 2:18 "and NOT HOLDING THE HEAD," verse 19 and verses 20-23. "The Apostle warns us all against a wrong attitude which at all times has more or less threatened the body of Christ... the danger of looking too much to ourselves or to other men in the church and not enough toward the Lord, who is indeed ‘the Head of the church, which is his body.’ ONLY THE HUMBLE ARE SAFE. Thus our Lord marks humility as one of the prime essentials of a place in the kingdom. And we can see the importance, the reason for This..."how unnecessary we are to the divine plan and how able the Lord is to overrule every incident and circumstance according to the divine will...

"Let us ever keep in memory the Apostle’s example and words: ‘We preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus our Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake’—2 Cor. 4:5. "‘ 05-R3613, R3614

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"And they shall be all taught of God"—John 6:45.

"He who would continue to be taught of the Lord must continue to listen for His voice, continue to be in the hearing and obeying attitude of heart... Let each of us resolve by the Lord’s grace that we will out of an honest heart continually seek to hear the pure Word of God, and that with a desire to obey it as far as we are able." ‘07-R4092 "‘ Oh, the blessedness of him that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days’—the blessedness of those who have been living from 1875 onward... This divine plan of the ages is not... a human plan or scheme; for no human being is capable of bringing such glorious things out of the Word of God... We are ashamed of all the creeds of the past." ‘14-R5568

CHRISTIANITY AND THE LAW—Matt. 5:17-26

"He that loveth his neighbor bath fulfilled the law"—Rom. 13:8.

"Jesus and his apostles expounded the harmony between Christianity and Judaism...

"The Great Teacher declared that he came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them... ‘12-R5006, R5007 ‘... It was his enemies who called Christianity heresy, and separation from Judaism, but their charges were false... Christianity, instead of being split off from Judaism, was the natural outcome and proper development of it—the fulfilment of the promises of God upon which the hopes and prospects of Judaism were all built.

"The Apostle shows this matter most distinctly in his letter to the Romans (chapter 11), where he pictures the Jewish nation as the olive tree whose root was the Abrahamic promise, and whose branches were the people of Israel. He does not picture Christianity as another tree, nor yet as a new shoot out of this original olive tree, but he does picture it as the fuller development of this tree, representing all Jews refusing to progress and to accept of Christ, as branches that were broken off.

"All the true Jews who continued to be recognized of the Lord—all the Israelites indeed—were the Christians who from Pentecost onward have been known as spiritual Israelites. ‘03-R3194 "In the days of our Lord’s first advent, as today, there were many widely recognized leaders and teachers; and various systems of human philosophy claimed the attention of thinking men. Among the Jews much uninspired teaching was added to the sacred literature of the Law and the Prophets, while the neighboring Greeks were diligently dealing in philosophic speculation and ever seeking something new. And now the long expected, but generally unrecognized, Messiah of Israel was about to introduce a new system of teaching, the philosophy and the ethics of a new dispensation of divine providence and grace, the outgrowth and the antitype of Judaism.’

"The Shepherd of the Lord’s sheep... entered the door of the divine plan and thus became to us... both the door of access to God and the good shepherd of the sheep. ‘To him the porter (the holy Spirit of God) openeth (the way to the sheep). ‘... in all the various ways which proclaimed him to us as the beloved Son of God, in whom the Father was well pleased, and our Redeemer and Saviour—in the testimony of his baptism, and again on the mount of transfiguration; in the veiled heaven and the rent rocks on the occasion of his death; in the fact of his resurrection and its testimony by angels and eyewitnesses; in the perfect agreement of all the prominent features of his life and character, with the testimony of prophets regarding him; and in the authority and character of his teaching and the simplicity and purity of his character which outshone that of every other man, so that even those who did not recognize him as the Son of God, declared ‘NEVER MAN SPAKE LIKE THIS MAN.’ "Though only a ‘little flock’ is now recognized as the Lord’s sheep, there shall by and by be a mighty host (John 10:16); and the redeemed of the Lord shall go forth with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. Glorious plan of salvation! How worthy it is of the character of our God!" ‘94-R1647, R1648

Revelation 1

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

Revelation 1:4 (RVENDAG_)

Verse 4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven spirits which are before his throne;

Even the location is significant: Asia means "boggy" or "swampy"; as the true church can testify. Revelation is a message which God gave to Jesus Christ; and John’s introduction is from that standpoint. The seven spirits indicate God’s power or ability to bring to a successful conclusion any work or plan he wishes to have done.

"The first three chapters of Revelation contain particular specifications and general admonitions, not only for the local churches therein mentioned, but for all ‘overcomers.’ They apply not only to the different epochs in the history of the church as a whole, but to different classes in any one epoch in the history of the church." ‘11-R4870

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AND THE NEW COVENANT

"The Abrahamic Covenant is not the New Covenant, even as it is not the Law Covenant. The New Covenant is the name of that arrangement which God will make with Israel and all mankind who, during the period of Messiah’s reign, desire to become ‘Israelites indeed.’ That New Covenant will be inaugurated as a measure for carrying out the blessings purposed in the Abrahamic Covenant.

"The Abrahamic Covenant relates especially to the Seed of Abraham, which is to be made glorious and powerful, with a view to the blessing of the world. The New Covenant relates to the arrangement by which the antitypical Seed of Abraham, when glorified, will accomplish the honorable work assigned to it in the Abrahamic Covenant.

"The fulfilment of the Abrahamic Covenant began in the person of our Lord Jesus, not when He left the Heavenly glory, nor when He was born a babe at Bethlehem, but when God accepted his consecration and begat him to a new nature at the time of his baptism, perfecting him in the new nature at his resurrection. The man Jesus, before being begotten of the holy Spirit, was not the Seed of Abraham according to promise, capable of blessing mankind; for so long as Jesus was in the flesh, even though perfect, the blessing of the world through him was impossible. The world lay under a 7 death sentence and could not be blessed until provision should be made for the lifting of that death sentence.

"The provision of the ransom, therefore, was necessary for the world. Jesus in the flesh, in providing the ransomprice, would have had no life for himself that he might become the King of Glory and Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Psa. 110:4; Heb. 5:10) unless God had begotten and quickened and raised him to the higher, spirit nature. Hence, although Jesus, through his mother, was of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, he did not inherit this Abrahamic Covenant according to the flesh, but as the new creature.

"In order, therefore, to attain this higher nature, in order to be the spiritual seed of Abraham and bless all the families of the earth, it was necessary for Jesus to enter into a special covenant of sacrifice. The church, members of his body, must share all his experiences and lay down the earthly life also; for whether Jews or Gentiles it would still be true that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom. Hence the privilege of the church is to enter into the covenant of sacrifice with Jesus. Thus we read, ‘Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice’—Psa. 50:5.

"It has required the entire Gospel age for the gathering of these saints and the making of their sacrifices. Those sacrifices must be accomplished before they can attain to the heavenly nature—before they can be members of the spiritual seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise. Thus the Apostle declared, ‘Israel bath not obtained that which he seeketh for (to be the spiritual seed of Abraham); but the election bath obtained it, and the rest were blinded’—Rom. 11:7.

"The election obtained this blessed state through the covenant of sacrifice, in which Jesus acted as their Advocate. The first members were accepted at Pentecost. The last members, we trust, will soon finish their course with joy. Then the spiritual seed of Abraham will be complete and ready to serve the world as the great antitypical Mediator of the New Covenant.

"The Abrahamic Covenant was God’s own Covenant, or promise. Because it was unconditional, it has no mediator (Gal. 3:19,20), neither did it need to be sealed with blood. Rather, we might say that God sealed it with his oath (Heb. 6:16-18). The Law Covenant needed the blood of bulls and goats as an offset to the sins of the people, who were to be blessed typically. The new Covenant needs the blood of better sacrifices as satisfaction for the sins of the people, who are to be blessed actually. These two covenants could not go into effect without the shedding of blood and the remission of sins—Heb. 9:18-22.

"But the Abrahamic Covenant centers itself in the new creatures. From the first, God meant primarily the spiritual seed of Abraham, the new creation, which has never known sin. Jesus himself was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, and needed not any atonement for sin in order to enter into that covenant relationship and become Abraham’s spiritual seed and heir. Those accepted as his members would have had no such standing or worthiness except as he adopted them as his members, imputed his own merit to them and offered them sacrificially as his own flesh.

"Hence, strictly speaking, we cannot say that the Abrahamic Covenant has ever been sealed with blood, or that it will ever be so sealed. This does not alter the fact however, that not without blood (death) could we, his members, be accepted through him. Only in this indirect way can it be said that the Abrahamic Covenant is sealed with blood. St. Paul intimates that it was sealed by the oath of Jehovah—Heb. 6:13-18. ‘13-R5226, R5227

WHY JESUS LOVES HIS OWN

"Why did Jesus have this special love for them—’having loved his own, he loved them unto the end.’ There is something important here. You and I wish to know whether the Savior loves us. His is not merely a random love. There is a principle involved... His was an unselfish love. He purposed to do something for them.

"What was the reason that Jesus loved and called his disciples his own?... He loved them because they had those qualities of heart that would make them lovable from his standpoint... I am glad the Bible says that Jesus loved his own. I am glad I am one of his own and therefore can believe that Jesus loves me, not in the merely sympathetic sense that he loves the unbelieving world, but in the special sense made manifest in John 13:1.

"The quality that made Jesus love them was, I believe, first of all, their honesty. It seems to me there is no quality more estimable in the sight of God than honesty... The honesty which these disciples manifested was that they were ready to confess that they were nothing of themselves. They could not keep the law of God. They could not think of themselves as anybody. They knew, as all Jews knew, or ought to have known, that God had given them the law as the standard. They could not keep that law. They were honest enough to confess it. Their hearts were therefore in the attitude to look for something that God had to give that would be better than the Law Covenant—Romans 7; 8:1-4.

HYPOCRISY THE GREAT SIN

"Notice the great ones, the holy, the religious ones, of the Jewish nation—the scribes and Pharisees and priests. They were claiming that they kept the law; but they were not keeping the law, as Jesus pointed out. That meant that they were deceived. They were professing to keep the law. They made broad their phylacteries. They made long prayers to be seen of men. Jesus was continually reproving them. Doubtless there were many murderers, thieves and vagabonds in Palestine; yet we notice that Jesus passed all their criminality by as insignificant as compared with hypocrisy. The most serious denunciations the Master gave were toward this class. The further you and I can get away from being religious hypocrites the better...

"‘ The Father himself loveth you’ (John 16:27)! What would you take, my dear brother, for what that text teaches of the love of God toward us as his children? He has a love for the world. As a God, a Creator, he has the supervision of all his creatures. God has made provision for every creature, even the sparrow. But for all who have come into this loyal attitude of mind, he has love—sympathy, and more, esteem! ...

8 "It is not that we first loved him, but that he first loved us—the love we see reflected in his great plan for the uplifting of our race. And this tells us of the great God that we have. When we came into his family by surrendering our wills to him, and he begat us of his holy Spirit, we came into a precious relationship. There is nothing like it in the universe. The holy angels indeed are in God’s love and favor; they never were out of it. But we who were once sinners and who are now received back into his family, are begotten of his Spirit to the highest of all natures. How wonderful, my dear brother! I think, and so do you, that God loves us very, very much, or he would never have make such wonderful provision in the riches of his grace and in his loving kindness toward us who are in Christ Jesus. The provisions of God’s grace are not only those of the future, and it is not that he will ultimately change and transform us who are now willing to will and to do his good pleasure, but we are actually being transformed today, by this love of the Father.

"I believe that daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, as we think upon these things, as we consider, study out and understand the great love of God as expressed in his marvelous plan, we are getting a wonderful realization of how much ‘the Father himself loveth’ us. But we cannot understand it fully. But the very fact that any Father would do such wonderful things for any child would imply a great deal of love.

"God had love for the angels when he made them. He had love for the cherubim and the seraphim when he made them. They always will be grand characters and therefore worthy of God’s love. But here is the most wonderful expression of God’s love that we by faith can believe in—that God should have such love toward us who are in every way disorganized as a race. The Father looked down and beheld in this race some jewels; and he lifted these jewels up and washed them free from sin through the merit of the Savior; and then, through their consecration, began the work of polishing these jewels and getting them ready for the mounting in effulgent glory in the resurrection morning, when he shall set these jewels in the gold of the divine nature. Surely the Father himself loveth us!”‘15-R5725

BRINGING BACK THE KING

"Why Are Ye the Last to Bring Back the King?" 2Sa 19:9-12 "In the scrap of history here recorded we find an illustration of a very similar condition of things in the world today.... ‘’‘ 94-R1690 to R1693.

”A thousand years! Earth’s coming glory! ‘Tis the glad day so long foretold; ‘Tis the bright morn of Zion’s glory, Prophets foresaw in times of old.”"While there are not many rich or noble amongst the Lord’s brethren, yet when it comes to telling the truth, they manage it very well!”‘15-R5728 c2 p1

Revelation 1

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Revelation 1:5 (RVENDAG_)

Verse 5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first born of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

The washed condition shows that this Book is for those only, who are consecrated, justified, spirit begotten, and anxiously studying their Father’s word to get the import of it, and not missing the fact that the correct understanding must take into consideration the time feature as to when the events are due.

"The conversion of the world in the present age was not expected of the Church, but her mission has been to preach the Gospel in all the world for a witness, and to prepare herself under divine direction for her great future work." A95 top "Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins"—Acts 13:38.

"Although Messiah had long existed as the archangel, nevertheless the prophet David, speaking for God, said concerning him: ‘Thou art my son, this day have I begotten (literally borne or delivered) thee.’ The Apostle would have his hearers note that this birth mentioned referred to our Lord’s resurrection, as it is written, he was the ‘first born from the dead,’‘ the first born among many brethren.’—Psa. 2:17; Heb. 1:5; Rom. 8:29; Rev. 1:5.

"He quotes again the words of Jehovah through the prophet, addressed to Messiah—’I will give you the sure mercies of David,’—I will make sure to thee forever the mercies of David... Although Messiah as Michael the archangel had been great even before David’s time, yet it would be at a later date, and as a result of some work which he would perform, that the mercies promised to David and his seed would be made sure to Messiah. This transaction was the giving of ‘his life a ransom for all,’ and the making sure to him of the Davidic promises by the Almighty was evidenced ‘in that he raised him from the dead.’ "The center and pith of the Apostle’s discourse (Acts 13:26-39)... was an individual message to every heart before him in condition to receive it, namely, ‘Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.’ The Apostle does not refer to something that was done by our Lord as the Archangel before ‘He was made flesh’ (John 1:14), nor does he refer to any work to be done by him in his new, highly exalted condition, ‘ set down with his Father in His throne’ and partaker of His Divine Nature; but he here refers to the work done by ‘the man, Christ Jesus who gave himself A RANSOM for all’ {1Ti 2:5,6} at Calvary. Thus the Apostle again emphasizes the fact that ‘as by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead’ {1Co 15:21}.

"Yes, this is the center of the Gospel proclamation that the failure of the first perfect man was fully offset by the sacrifice of ‘the man Christ Jesus,’ and that it was to this end that it was needful for our Lord to leave the glory which he had with the Father before the world was (John 1:14), to become poor (in the sense of taking our lower nature—but not its blemishes, for he was ‘holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners’); and yielding up this human nature a ransom-price or corresponding price for the life forfeited by father Adam for himself and his race. This is the basis upon which every offer to grace is presented by the Scriptures.

9 "And now, he who was the Father’s agent in the redemptive work is to be the Father’s agent also in the work of ‘blessing’ all the redeemed with ample opportunities for return to divine favor—the first step of which is the forgiveness of sins." ‘97-R2149, R2150 Please see comments at Rev. 22:17 on the Testator—the antitypical Moses.

"The blood represents the surrender of earthly rights and privileges and life willingly, in pursuance of the divine will or arrangement." ‘09-R4428 "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"—2 Cor. 5:19.

"Speaking the Truth in love... grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ"—Eph. 4:15.

"The church will be first in Messiah’s kingdom; natural Israel with the ancient worthies at their head will be the second. Subsequently all nations will come into divine favor and blessing, becoming members of Israel. All who have the spirit of obedience and sacrifice will be blessed through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." ‘15-R5721 "The teaching of Jesus was chiefly by induction. He had been with his disciples working miracles for probably two years before he asked them, ‘Whom say ye that I am?’ When St. Peter declared, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,’ Jesus replied, ‘Flesh and blood bath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven’—Matthew 16:15-17.

"Did not St. Peter thus declare his faith that Jesus was the Son of God—not the son of Joseph? And did not Jesus approve this, and refer to the heavenly and not to an earthly father?

"What did Jesus mean when he declared, ‘Before Abraham was I am?’ By induction he told of a pre-human existence... Similarly he prayed to the Father, ‘Glorify thou me with shine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was’ (John 8:58; 17:5).

"Again Jesus told his disciples about this ascending up where he was before. If he had no previous existence, if he had not a special birth, how could we understand these words? Similarly Jesus referred to himself as ‘the bread which came down from heaven’—John 6:62,32-35,41.

"Surely Jesus was miraculously born... There is no middle ground.

"Having heard from Jesus and from St. Peter, let us hear from St. Paul. What is the force, or significance of St. Paul’s statement that Jesus is ‘the first-born of every creature,’ and that ‘by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible... all things were created by him and for him; and he is before all things, and by him all things consist’?( Col. 1:15-17) These words by the Apostle are surely not in accord with the theory that Jesus began his existence the same as others—that he was the son of Joseph.

"Again St. Paul writes, ‘Our Lord Jesus, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor’ {2Co 8:9}. Again he declares, ‘Who, existing in a form of God, counted not equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men’—Phil. 2:6,7.

"Again, what is the meaning of St. Paul’s declaration that Jesus was ‘holy, guileless, undefiled and separate from sinners’?( Hebrews 7:26) If Jesus was the son of Joseph, he was not separate from sinners, but belonged to the same stock with all others and would also have needed a redeemer." ‘ 15-R5767

"Verse 5 clearly teaches what the creeds of Christendom ignore, and what is in direct antagonism to their statements; namely, that the risen Christ was ‘the first born of the dead.’ That is to say, our Lord was the first to experience a resurrection in the full sense of the word, the first to experience a resurrection to perfection and eternal life. Although some before him were temporarily awakened, they relapsed again into death; for they were only partial illustrations of resurrection, to assure men of the divine power to accomplish it fully in the due time appointed of God." ‘16- R5991.

"To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth" John 18:37. "Many who realize that Jesus was indeed the Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief, and some who realize that he died for our sins, have never yet seen that he purchased not only man but the empire originally given to the first Adam. Many can realize our Lord in the attitude of priest who fail to realize that he is also to be a king, and that throughout the Millennial age he will be a priest upon his throne, ‘ after the order of Melchizedec,’ his Church and Bride being associated with him and sharing in both his priestly and his kingly offices.

"The priestly of ficespeaks mercy, forgiveness and grace to help; but the kingly office is no less essential to the world’s salvation—men must be delivered from the bondage of sin and death—and must be ruled with the iron rod in order to develop them and fit them for life everlasting; and all of this work belongs to him who redeemed us as with his own precious blood. It is well that we remember, too, that a very large proportion of our Lord’s parables related to the kingdom in its various stages—now embryotic, by and by to be set up with full power and authority to overthrow evil and to bring in everlasting righteousness.