Christ the Tree of Life
(No. 3251)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MAY 25, 1911.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the
Tree of Life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit
every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations." Revelation 22:2.
[Another Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon upon the same text is #1233, Volume
31–HEALING LEAVES.]
You will remember that in the first Paradise, there was a Tree of Life
in the midst of the garden. When Adam had offended and was driven out,
God said, "Lest he put forth his hand and take of the Tree of Life and
eat, and live forever, therefore the Lord God drove out the man." It
has been supposed, by some, that this Tree of Life in the Garden of
Eden was intended to be the means of continuing man in
immortality–that his feeding upon it would have supported him in the
vigor of unfailing youth, preserved him from exposure to decay and
imparted, by a spiritual regeneration, the seal of perpetuity to his
constitution. I do not know about that. If it were so, I can understand
the reason why God would not have the first man, Adam, become immortal
in the lapsed state he was then in, but ordained that the old nature
should die, and that the immortality would be given to a new nature
which would be formed under another leadership and quickened by another
Spirit.
The text tells us that in the center of the new Paradise, the perfect
Paradise of God, from which the saints shall never be driven, seeing it
is to be our perpetual heritage, there is also a Tree of Life. But here
we translate the metaphor–we do not understand that tree to be
literal. We believe our Lord Jesus Christ to be none other than that
Tree of Life whose leaves are for the healing of the nations! We can
scarcely conceive of any other interpretation, as this seems to us to
be so full of meaning and to afford us such unspeakable satisfaction!
At any rate, Beloved, if this is not the absolute purpose of the
sublime vision that John saw, it is most certainly true that our Lord
Jesus Christ is life from the dead, and life to His own living people.
He is All-in-All to them. And by Him and by Him, alone, must their
spiritual life be maintained. We are right enough, then, in saying that
Jesus Christ is a Tree of Life and we shall so speak of Him in the hope
that some may come and pluck of the fruit and eat and live forever! Our
desire shall be so to use the sacred allegory that some poor dying soul
may be encouraged to lay hold on eternal life by laying hold on Jesus
Christ!
First, we shall take the Tree of Life in the winter with no fruit on it
Secondly, we shall try to show you the Tree of Life budding and
blossoming. And, thirdly, we shall endeavor to show you the way to
partake of its fruits.
I. And first, my Brothers and Sisters, I have to speak to you of JESUS
CHRIST, THE TREE OF LIFE IN THE WINTER.
You will at once anticipate that I mean, by this figure, to describe
Jesus in His sufferings, in His dark winter days when He did hang upon
the Cross and bleed and die. When He had no honor from men and no
respect from anyone– when even God the Father hid His face from Him
for a season and He was made sin for us, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. My dear Friends, you will never see the
Tree of Life aright unless you first look at the Cross. It was there
that this tree gathered strength to bring forth its later fruit. It was
there, we say, that Jesus Christ, by His glorious merits and His
wondrous work achieved upon the Cross, obtained power to become the
Redeemer of our souls and the Captain of our salvation!
Come with me, then, by faith, to the foot of the little mound of
Calvary, and let us look up and see this thing that came to pass. Let
us turn aside as Moses did when the bush burned and see this great
sight! It is the greatest marvel that ever earth, or Hell, or Heaven
beheld–and we may well spend a few minutes in beholding it.
Our Lord Jesus, the ever-living, the immortal, the eternal, became Man
and, being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and died the
death of the Cross. That death was not on His own account. His Humanity
had no need to die. He might have lived on and have seen no death if so
He had willed. He had committed no offense, no sin and, therefore, no
punishment could fall upon Him–
"For sins not His own He died to atone."
Every pang upon the Cross was substitutionary! And for you, you sons of
men, the Prince of Glory bled, the Just for the unjust, that He might
bring you to God! There was no smart for Himself, for His Father loved
Him with an Ineffable love. He deserved no blows from His Father's
hand, but His smarts were for the sins of His enemies–for your sins
and mine–that by His stripes we might be healed and that through His
wounds, reconciliation might be made with God!
Think, then, of the Savior's death upon the Cross. Mark you well that
it was an accursed death. There were many ways by which men might die,
but there was only one death which God pronounced to be accursed. He
did not say, "Cursed is he that dies by stoning, or by the sword, or by
a millstone being fastened about his neck, or by being eaten of worms."
But it waswritten, "Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree." By no
other death than that one, which God did single out as the death of the
accursed, could Jesus Christ die! Admire it, Believer, that Jesus
Christ should be made a curse for us! Admire and love–let your faith
and your gratitude blend together.
It was a death of the most ignominious kind. The Roman law subjected
only felons to it and I believe not even felons unless they were
slaves. A freed Roman must not so die, nor a subject of any of the
kingdoms that Rome had conquered– only the slave who was bought and
sold in the market could be put to this death. The Jews counted Jesus
worthy to be sold as a slave and then they put Him to a slave's death
for you.
Besides, they added to the natural scorn of the death their own
ridicule. Some passed by and wagged their heads. Some stood still and
thrust out their tongues at Him. Others sat down and watched Him there
and satisfied their malice and their scorn. He was made the center of
all sorts of ridicule and shame. He was the drunkard's song and even
they that were crucified with Him reviled Him. And all this He suffered
for us! Our sin was shameful and He was made to be a shame for us. We
had disgraced ourselves and dishonored God and, therefore, Jesus was
joined with the wicked in His death–and made as vile as they.
Besides, the death was exceedingly painful. We must not forget the
pangs of the Savior's body, for I believe, when we begin to depreciate
the corporeal sufferings, we very soon begin to drag down the spiritual
sufferings, too. It must be a fearful death by which to die, when the
tender hands and feet are pierced–and when the bones are dislocated by
the jar of erecting the Cross. And when the fever sets in and the mouth
becomes hot as an oven, and the tongue is swollen in the mouth, and the
only moisture given is vinegar mingled with gall. Ah, Beloved! The
pangs that Jesus knew, none of us can guess. We believe that Hart has
well described it when he said that He bore–
"All that Incarnate God could bear, With strength enough, and none to
spare." You cannot tell the price of griefs, groans, sighs,
heartbreaking, soul tearing and rending of the spirit which Jesus had
to pay that He might redeem us from our iniquities!
It was a lingering death However painful a death may be, it is always
satisfactory to think that it is soon over. When a man is hanged, after
our English custom, or the head is taken from the body, the pain may be
great for the instant, but it is soon over and gone. But in crucifixion
a man lives so long that when Pilate heard that the Savior was dead, he
marveled that He was already dead! I remember hearing a missionary say
that he saw a man in Burma crucified, and that he was alive two days
after having been nailed to the cross. And I believe there are
authenticated stories of persons who have been taken down from the
cross after having hung for 48 hours and after all that have had their
wounds healed and have lived for years. It was a lingering death that
the Savior had to die.
O my Brothers and Sisters, if you put these items together, they make
up a ghastly total which ought to press upon our hearts–if we are
Believers, in the form of grateful affection–or if we are unbelievers,
provoking us to shame that we do not love Him who loved the sons of men
so much!
And the death of the Lord Jesus Christ for us, we must also add, was
penal He died this death of the condemned. Perhaps most men would feel
this to be the worst feature, for if a man shall die by ever so painful
a death, if it is accidental, it misses the sting which must come into
it if it is caused by law–and especially if it is brought by sin and
after sentence has been passed in due form. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ
was condemned by the civil and ecclesiastical tribunals of the country
to die. And what was more, "it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, He has
put Him to grief." Jesus Christ died without any sin of His own, yet He
died a penal death because our sins were counted as His! He took upon
Him our iniquities as though they were His own and then, being found in
the sinner's place, He suffered the wrath that was due for sin as if He
had been a sinner!
Beloved, I wish it were in my power to set forth Christ
Crucified–Christ visibly Crucified among you! Oh, that I could so
paint Him that the eyes of your heart could see Him! I wish that I
could make you feel the sorrow of His griefs, and sip that bitter cup
which He had to drain to the dregs. But if I cannot do this, it shall
suffice me to say that that death is the only hope for sinners. Those
wounds of His are the gate to Heaven! The smarts and sufferings of
Immanuel are the only expiatory Sacrifice for human guilt! O you who
would be saved, turn your eyes here! Look unto Him and be you saved,
all the ends of the earth. There is life in a look at Him, but there is
life nowhere else! Despise Him and you perish. Accept Him and you shall
never perish, neither shall all the powers of Hell prevail against you!
Come, guilty Souls! Jesus wants not your tears or your blood–His tears
can cleanse you–His blood can purify you! If your heart is not as
broken as you would have it, it is His broken heart, not yours, that
shall merit Heaven for you! If you cannot be what you could, He was for
you what God would have Him to be! God is contented with Him, so be you
also contented with Him and come and trust Him! Oh, now may delays be
over and difficulties all be solved–and just as you are, without one
plea, but that the Savior bled–come to your heavenly Father and you
shall be "accepted in the Beloved."
Thus, then, Jesus Christ hanging on the Cross is the Tree of Life in
its winter time.
II. And now let me show you, as I may be enabled, THAT SAME TREE OF
LIFE WHEN IT HAS BLOSSOMED AND BROUGHT FORTH FRUIT.
There He stands–Jesus–still the same Jesus–and yet how changed! The
same Jesus, but clothed with honor instead of shame, able now to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him. My text says of this
tree that it bears "twelve fruits." I suppose that is intended to
signify that a perfect and complete assortment of all supplies for
human necessities is to be found in Christ–all sorts of mercies for
all sorts of sinners–all kinds of blessings to suit all kinds of
necessities. We read of the palm tree, that every bit of it is useful,
from its root to its fruit. So is it with the Lord Jesus Christ. There
is nothing in Him that we could afford to do without. There is nothing
about Jesus that is extraneous or superfluous. You can put Him to use
in every part, in every office, in every relationship!
A Tree of Life is for food. Some trees yield rich fruit. Adam in the
garden lived only on the fruit of the garden. Jesus Christ is the food
of His people–and what dainties they have! What satisfying food, what
plenteous food, what sweet food, what food precisely suitable to all
the needs of their souls is Jesus! As for manna, it was angels' food,
but what shall I say of Christ? He is more than that, for–
"Never did angels taste above, Redeeming Grace and dying love."
Oh, how richly you are fed! The flesh of God's own Son is the spiritual
meat of every heir of Heaven. Hungry souls, come to Jesus if you would
be fed!
Jesus also gives His people drink. There are some tropical trees which,
as soon as they are tapped, yield liquids as sweet and rich as milk,
and many drink and are refreshed by them. Jesus Christ's heart blood is
the wine of His people. The Atonement which He has perfected by His
sufferings is the golden cup out of which they drink and drink again,
till their mourning souls are made glad and their fainting hearts are
strengthened and refreshed. Jesus gives us the Water of Life, the wines
on the lees well refined, the wine and milk, without money and without
price. What a Tree of Life to yield us both meat and drink!
Jesus is a Tree of Life yielding clothing, too. Adam went to the fig
tree for his garments and the fig leaves yielded him such covering as
they could. But we come to Christ and we find not fig leaves, but a
robe of Righteousness that is matchless for its beauty, comely in its
proportions, one which will never wear out, which exactly suits to
cover our nakedness from head to foot and when we put it on makes us
fair to look upon, even as Christ Himself! O you who would be dressed
till you shall be fit to stand among the courtiers of the skies, come
to Jesus and find garments such as you need upon this Tree of Life!
This Tree also yields medicine. ' 'The leaves of the tree were for the
healing of the nations." Lay a plaster upon any wound and if it is but
the plaster of King Jesus, it will heal it! But one promise from His
lips, but one leaf from this tree, but one word from His Spirit, but
one drop of His blood and this is Heaven's court-plaster indeed. It is
true that there was no balm in Gilead, there was no physician there
and, therefore, the hurt of the daughter of Israel's people was not
healed. But there is balm in Jesus, there isa Physician at Calvary–and
the hurt of the daughter of God's people shall be healed if she will
but fly to Jesus Christ for healing!
And what more shall I say? Is there anything else your spirits can
need? O children of God, Christ is All! O you ungodly ones who have
been roaming through the world to find the tree that should supply your
needs, stop here! This
"apple tree [See Sermon #1120, Volume 19–THE APPLE TREE IN THE WOODS
and #3249, Volume 57–UNDER THE APPLE TREE.] among the trees of the
woods" is the tree which your souls require! Stay here and you shall
have all that you need. For, listen–this tree yields a shelter from
the storm. Other trees are dangerous when the tempest howls, but he
that shelters beneath the tree of the Lord Jesus shall find that all
the thunderbolts of God shall fly by him and do him no injury. He
cannot be hurt who clings to Jesus! Heaven and earth should sooner pass
away than a soul be lost that hides beneath the boughs of this Tree.
And oh, you who have hidden there to shelter from the wrath of God, let
me remind you that in every other kind of danger it will also yield you
shelter! And if you are not in danger, yet still in the hot days of
care you shall find the shade of it to be cool and genial. The spouse
in Solomon's Song said, "I sat down under His shadow with great
delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste." Get Christ and you have
got comfort, joy, peace and liberty–and when the trouble comes, you
shall find shelter and deliverance by coming near to Him.
He is the Tree of Life, then, yielding twelve fruits, those fruits
being always ripe and always ready, for they ripen every month, all
being free to all who desire them, for the leaves are not for the
healing of some, but "for the healing of the nations." What a large
word! Then there are enough of these leaves for the healing of all the
nations that shall ever come into the world. Oh, may God grant that
none of you may die from spiritual sickness when these leaves can heal
you! And may none of you be filling yourselves with the sour grapes of
this world, the poisonous grapes of sin, while the sweet fruit of
Christ's love are waiting which would refresh you and satisfy you.
III. And now I have to show you HOW TO GET AT THE FRUIT OF THIS TREE OF
LIFE.
That is the main matter. Little does it matter to tell that there is
fruit unless we can tell how it can be obtained. I wish that all here
really wanted to know the way, but I am afraid many care very little
about it. Dr. Payson had once been out to tea with one of his people
who had been particularly hospitable to him, and when he was leaving,
the doctor said, "Well, now, Madam, you have treated me exceedingly
well, but how do you treat my Master?" That is a question I should like
to put to some of you. How do you treat my Master? Why, you treat Him
as if He were not Christ! As if you did not need Him! But you doneed
Him. May you find Him soon, for when you come to die, you will need Him
then, and perhaps then you may not find Him.
Well, the way to get the fruit from this Tree is by faith. That is the
hand that plucks the golden apples! Can you believe? That is the thing.
Can you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died upon the
Cross? "Yes," you say, "I believe that." Can you believe that in
consequence of His sufferings, He is able to save? "Yes," say you. Can
you believe that He will save you? Will you trust Him to save you? If
so, you are saved! If your soul comes to Jesus, and says, "My Lord, I
believe in You, that You are able to save to the uttermost, and now I
throw myself upon You." That is faith!
When Mr. Andrew Fuller was going to preach before an Association, he
rode to the meeting on his horse. There had been a good deal of rain
and the rivers were very much swollen. He got to one river which he had
to cross. He looked at it and he was half afraid of the strong current,
as he did not know the depth. A farmer who happened to be standing by,
said, "It is all right, Mr. Fuller, you will get through it all right,
Sir. The horse will keep its feet." Mr. Fuller went in and the water
got up to the girth, and then up to the saddle–and he began to get
uncomfortably wet. Mr. Fuller thought he had better turn round and he
was going to do so when the same farmer shouted, "Go on, Mr. Fuller! Go
on! I know it is all right!" And Mr. Fuller said, "Then I will go on. I
will go by faith." Now, Sinner, it is very like that with you. You
think that your sins are so deep that Christ will never be able to
carry you over them! But I say to you–"It is all right, Sinner. Trust
Jesus and He will carry you through Hell, itself, if that is necessary!
If you had all the sins of all
the men that have ever lived, and they were all yours–if you could
trust Him, Jesus Christ would carry you through the current of all that
sin! It is all right, Man! Only trust Christ. The river may be deep,
but Christ's love is deeper. It is all right, Man! Do not let the devil
make you doubt my Lord and Master! He is a liar from the beginning and
the father of lies, but my Master is faithful and true! Rest on Him and
all will be well. The waves may roll, the river may seem to be deeper
than you thought it to be–and rest assured it ismuch deeper than you
know it to be–but the almighty arm of Jesus–that strong arm that can
shake the heavens and the earth and move the pillars thereof as Samson
moved the pillars of Gaza's gates–that strong arm can hold you up and
bear you safely through if you do but cling to it, and rest on it. O
Soul, rest in Jesus and you are saved!"
Once again. If at the first you do not seem to get the fruit from this
Tree, shake it by prayer.' 'Oh," you say, "I have been praying." Yes,
but a tree does not always drop its fruit at the first shake you give
it. Shake it again, Man! Give it another shake! And sometimes, when the
tree is loaded and is pretty firm in the earth, you have to shake it to
and fro and, at last, you plant your feet and get a hold of it, and
shake it with might and main till you strain every muscle and sinew to
get the fruit down! And that is this way to pray. Shake the Tree of
Life until the mercy drops into your lap! Christ loves for men to beg
hard of Him. You cannot be too importunate! That which might be
disagreeable to your fellow creatures when you beg of them, will be
agreeable to Christ! Oh, get to your chambers! Get to your chambers,
you that have not found Christ! Get to your bedsides, to your little
closets and "seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while
He is near!"
May the Spirit of God compel you to pray. May He compel you to continue
in prayer! Jesus must hear you. The gate of Heaven is open to the
sturdy knocker that will not take a denial. The Lord enable you so to
plead that at the last, you will be able to say, "You have heard my
voice and my supplication. You have inclined Your ear unto me.
Therefore will I pray unto You as long as I live."
May God add His blessing to these rambling thoughts, for Jesus sake!
Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: GENESIS 2:1-17; REVELATION 22'
Genesis 2:1-8. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all
the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He
had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He
had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they
were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and
every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused
it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.
But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of
the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living
soul. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He
put the man whom He had formed. Everything was ready for man's use.
Every fruit-bearing tree for his nourishment, every creature to do his
bidding, for it was the will of God that he should "have dominion over
the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle,
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon
the earth." God did not place the man formed in His image, after His
likeness, in an unfurnished house or an empty world and leave him to
provide for himself all that he required, but He prepared everything
that man could possibly need, and completed the whole plan by planting
"a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had
formed."
9. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the
midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.That
Tree of Life in the midst of the earthly Paradise was to be symbolic of
another Tree of Life in the Paradise above, from which the children of
God shall never be driven as Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden.
10-14. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from
thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first
is Pison: that is it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where
there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and
the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is
it that compasses the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third
river is Hiddekel: that is it which goes toward the east of Assyria.
And the fourth river is Euphrates. That river in Eden also reminds us
of the "pure river of Water of Life clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the Throne of God and of the Lamb," of which we read almost at the end
of the Revelation that was given to John in Patmos. Thus the beginning
and the end of the Bible call our attention to the Tree of Life and the
river of life in the Paradise below and the better Paradise above.
15. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden
to dress it and to keep it There was to be occupation for man even in
Paradise, just as they who are before the Throne of God in Glory "serve
Him day and night in His temple." Idleness gives no joy, but holy
employment will add to the bliss of Heaven.
16, 17. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of
the garden, you may freely eat: but of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat
thereof you shall surely die. Apparently Adam was not forbidden to eat
of the fruit of the Tree of Life, though, after his fall, he was cast
out of Eden, as God said, "lest he put forth his hand and take also of
the Tree of Life, and eat and live forever." He might freely eat the
fruit of every tree in the garden except one–"of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil, you shall not eat of it." It was a slight
prohibition, yet the test was more than man, even in a state of
innocence, was able to endure and, alas, his failure involved all his
descendants, for he was the federal head of the human race, and "by one
man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed
upon all men." Happily, there is another federal Head and, therefore,
we read, "For if through the offense of one, many are dead, much more
the Grace of God, and the gift by Grace, which is by one Man, Jesus
Christ, has abounded unto many."
Revelation 22:1. And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb.Rivers
partake of the character of the source from which they come. That which
proceeds "out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb "may well be "a pure
river of water of life, clear as crystal." What but good and perfect
gifts can come down from the Throne of God? What but pure streams of
mercy can flow from the Throne of the
Lamb?
2. In the middle of its street–For Heaven is a place of sacred and
hallowed communion–"In the middle of its
street"–
2. And on either side of the river, was the Tree of Life, which bore
twelve fruits. Every variety ofjoy and blessedness! 2. And yielded her
fruit every month. For the felicities of Heaven are always fresh and
always new, we shall never be satiated or wearied with that heavenly
fruit!
2. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.Everything in Heaven is the very best of the best. The leaves
of the trees in earthly gardens are blown about by the wind and we take
but little note of them. But the leaves of the Tree of Life are "for
the healing of the nations." O happy place, where even the leaves on
the tree have such virtue in them!
3. And there shall be no more curse. No more thorns or thistles, no
more pangs of child-bearing, no more sickness, or sorrow, or death.
3. But the Throne of God and of the Lamb [See Sermon #1576, Volume
27–THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB.] shall be in it, and His
servants shall serve Him/They shall have nothing else to do, and it
shall be their supreme delight to serve Him perfectly and unceasingly.
4. And they shall see His face.[See Sermon #824, Volume 14–THE HEAVEN
OF HEAVEN.] Not through a glass darkly, but face to face shall they
behold their God! Surely that will be the very Heaven of Heaven!
4. And His name shall be on their foreheads. Aaron was to wear upon his
forehead a plate of pure gold, with HOLINESS TO THE LORD engraved upon
it, that the children of Israel might be accepted before the Lord. But
the saints in Glory are to have the name of their God "on their
foreheads." In the very forefront of their glorified personalities
there shall be the marks to declare that they are the children of God!
5. And there shall be no night there. The saints in Glory will have no
need of sleep, so "there shall be no night there," but one perpetual
day of holy, unwearying service. There shall be no night of ignorance,
of sorrow, of sin, of death–there shall be no powers of darkness
there, and no darkness in which they might work their evil deeds.
5. And they shall need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the
Lord God gives them light Directly and distinctly, without using any
means, by His own immediate Presence, "the Lord God gives them light"–
5. And they shall reign forever and ever. Earthly kings die, or their
empires on earth are taken from them. But as for us whom God has
chosen, by His Grace, our Kingdom is like that of our Lord and
Savior–it is an everlasting Kingdom!
"They shall reign forever and ever." I wonder that some wise man does
not try to prove that this means that the saints shall reign only for a
short time! They have whittled "everlasting punishment" down to next to
nothing–why do they not try to reduce the duration of Heavenly bliss
in the same way? The same words are used concerning the one as
concerning the other, so we shall always hold to the eternity both of
the one and the other, the bliss and the woe are equally "forever and
ever."
6, 7. 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. Behold, I come quickly: blesed
is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this Book.You have the
witness of God. You have the witness of the angel of God, you have the
witness of Christ you have the witness of John, and all of them agree
that "these sayings are faithful and true," and that they relate to
facts that shall in due course be established.
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.And, according to the Church of Rome, he was
quite right. But according to the Word of God, he was quite wrong!
9. Then said he unto me, See you do it not: for I am your fellow
servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the
sayings of this Book: worship God. Worship none but God! Take care not
to break the first two of the Ten Commandments either by worshipping
another God or by worshipping the true God under any form of similitude
whatever!
10. And he said unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this
Book: for the time is at hand."There is no need to roll it up, and set
a seal to it, as it is so soon to be fulfilled, leave it open."
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 The Lord's messenger
speaks as if "the time" were so nearly come that there was no
opportunity left for any charge to be made. And this is what will
happen, sooner or later, to all men. When they die, their characters
will be fixed forever. The wax will cool, and the impression that it
bears will be retained eternally.
12. 13. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give
every man according as his work shall be. I
am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the
Last.[See Sermon #546, Volume 9–ALPHA AND OMEGA.] These must be the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself! No
mere messenger, however high his rank, would have dared to say, "I am
Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
14, 16. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have
the right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into
the city. For outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.We
thank God that they are shut out of Heaven, for, albeit that we wish
all men could be there, yet we would wish none to be there whose
characters are of such a kind as this, unless they were washed and
cleansed. Heaven would not be Heaven if such men could be admitted
there! They shall not be. They must, by Infallible Justice, be excluded
from the realms of bliss.
16. I Jesus have sent My 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. So Glory is dawning, for Christ, the Bright and Morning
Star has risen,
17. And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that hears say,
come. And let him that is thirsty, come.
And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely. [See Sermons
#279, Volume 5–COME AND WELCOME; #1331, Volume 22–THE TWO "COMES";
#1608, Volume 27–THE DOUBLE "COME" and #2685, Volume 46–THE
OFT-REPEATED INVITATION.] Here we have the last invitations in the Word
of God–may all who have not yet accepted them do so now, lest they
should never again be uttered in their hearing!
18-21. For I testify unto every man that hears 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: and if
any man shall take away from the
words of thee 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. He which testifies these things says,
Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The Grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. So the blessed Book closes
appropriately with Grace, for 'tis Grace that–
"All the work shall crown Through everlasting days; It lays in Heaven
the topmost stone, And well deserves the praise."