“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not: I am the first and the last, and the living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (R.V.).
We have had before us the great hope of the New Testament—the blessed anticipation of our Lord's return; and it is unnecessary for me now to remark how essential it is that we should keep this hope before our hearts. There is, however, another truth connected with it, which will have its due weight and help for us if we keep it before our souls. I refer to that aspect of the truth which assures us of the present concern of our adorable Lord and Master with our own particular welfare individually, as well as with the welfare of the whole of His church collectively.
We are sometimes so borne down with our own crosses and difficulties, and by the distractions that we find coming upon others personally and ecclesiastically, that to a certain extent the spirit of despair takes hold of us; and, looking at things within, and our own inefficiency, our own lack of competency, our own inability to clear away the things that oppose our onward march, and then again, counting the foes that encounter us, and the strength of the difficulties which surround us, we feel that all these things which are against us are too many for us. We bow our heads and think that we must give up. And so we might well give up if we had to fight the battle in our own strength, if we had to hold fast by our own energy, if there was none to stand by us, if there was none to impart to us the needed grace for the moment.
But the scripture shows that the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, Whom we know was at the cross for us, and Who we believe and know also left this earth and ascended up in glory, and Who is coming again to receive us into that place which He has gone to prepare for us—this blessed person never relaxes in His present interest in us, and in His continual and sufficient supplies of what we require.
The Lord Jesus Christ never, forsakes His saints; and He never forsakes His church. We cannot count up the members of that body, but He knows them every one. We do not know all that are His, but he knows every one, and they are all in His hands, and His love is upon each of them. Is this not, something to lift up our hearts, and to enable us to go forward with increased confidence, assured that we shall reach that goal to which we are hastening, and having gained that goal, we shall then look back and praise the grace that has brought us safely through.
The apostle John received this revelation of the. Lord Jesus Christ in the Isle of Patmos. I am not about to say anything as to the prophecies recorded in this book, but I wish to draw your attention mainly to the fact that in this island of Patmos, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto the apostle John, and He appeared to him as to a follower of His—one in tribulation—one who had been, and was, a faithful witness to His name. And I think that if we could transport ourselves to that island, and if we could in any degree enter into the feelings of that holy man, we should find that he had abundant reason to be depressed and cast down because of the circumstances of his time.
Consider the great changes John had witnessed since the departure of the Lord. You know that when the church commenced at Pentecost there was a glorious work here on the earth. There was a power that gathered men and women together to a new center, united them as, one, bound them up closer together, and, as such, they were all moving along the path of discipleship to their Lord and Master, and the world looked upon them with distrust.
And, at first, it seemed as if that new power in the earth, a power which spread itself by preaching, would revolutionize the whole world, and that men everywhere would quickly be brought to call on the name of the Lord.
Men in high places received the gospel as little children; they abandoned their former pursuits and occupations, and confessed the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It looked as if the world as a system without God, was to be overthrown by the gospel, and that the millennium, to use the word in the common sense, would be seen very soon upon the earth.
But Scripture history shows us that a change came over this aspect of things very rapidly. It shows us that the power of the world which seemed paralyzed at first, awoke to a spirit of energy of persecution against the gospel and those that followed Christ. The world arose in its might; determined to stand out against the name the Lord Jesus Christ. Persecution began, and that was evil enough to bear.
But there was more than this. There was within the, church itself that which corrupted. There was the shameful fall of some men from the truth of the earliest days. Do you realize what this meant to the apostles? Oh, how they loved to see men receiving the gospel, to see them walking in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then—to see the same men divided, turned aside, abandoning the very name of the Lord Jesus Christ! It was a trial to these men, to see the leaven of evil doctrine, working for the corruption of the saints, while at the same time the power of the world was such that the mouths of the apostles were stopped, and they could not testify when we might think the truth most needed such testimony. It was possible for wicked men to take holy servants of the Lord Jesus Christ and put them to a shameful and ignominious death!
These apostolic men were surely following Christ: where, then, was their Christ? He had gone away and left them, and they were fighting in a losing battle, and dropping out of the ranks one by one; and here is John, the last of them, a prisoner in Patmos, his mouth closed to all intents and purposes. How much he would long to see His Master as of old; but there he was, alone. Had the ascended Christ forgotten? Was He there, and had He forgotten His struggling saints here upon the earth? Was He leaving them alone to battle with the world, the flesh, and the devil?
Perhaps John's thoughts went back to that night long before on the sea of Galilee. He would remember how the Lord Jesus Christ, in a strange way, hurried them from the shore, after He had fed the multitudes, and constrained them to get in the boat. He bade them push off, and He was left alone on the shore. They rowed out on the waters, and the storm gathered, and they were tossed and buffeted with the waves. They wanted to go in one direction, but the winds and the waves drove them in the other direction. All this while their Master was absent. Once before they had experience of a storm on the lake, but He was there. He was in the boat; He was asleep, but still He was there. Now the question arose, why did He command them to go away from Him? The long hours crept by; the watches passed; the first watch, the second watch, and the third watch, found them bending to the oars. Everything seemed to be against them; that night went by, and Jesus was not there. How refreshed their hearts were when, in the fourth watch of the night, they beheld Him walking on the waves, making His pathway over those circumstances which were so adverse to them, and against which they were fighting and struggling in vain!
Oh, how they reproached themselves tor then mistrust; but no, their hearts at first were filled, with fear. They thought they saw a phantom, but they were brought to recognize His power and His love which they had never seen before just in that way. And perhaps it was at this point in His recollection that a voice fell upon John's ear. It was a familiar trumpet sound, but it came from an unexpected quarter. He had to turn to see the vision that was behind him. His eyes, were directed away from his beloved Master. Oh, beloved friends, is this not a lesson to us? Do we not so often look at the storms, the billows, the trials, perplexities; and we say, where can He be? Where is the One that has told us, “In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world?” The world seems so strong against us, and we are so weak.
Why do we feel like this? Why cannot we be certain of the One that loves us? We are then, surely, looking in the wrong direction. Yet He never fails to come to us. The disciples were downcast and in despair, but the Lord came to them on the waves—the very thing that was so distressing to them—to their relief. Amid those tangles in which we find ourselves, and those foes that are with us day by day, we too shall not fail to see the Beloved coming to us across the waves of trouble.
It is also true that He comes in the way that we do. not always expect, and often it is to our shame that we have to turn and seek the voice of that One Who speaks for our comfort. He will never. fail; He is faithful, draw ye nigh; let it be written on our hearts—the glory of our Master that He provides a faithful and true witness—a faithful and true one to those, whom He loves, and we passing through this world to the home above.
But the vision before our eyes of the apostle John was a vision of the Lord in His glory, and I wish to draw your attention especially to this feature. We have brought before us very vividly, the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ in His exit, as it were, from, his world, left it in the attitude of benediction. He was dispensing a parting blessing to those left here, and a cloud received Him out of their sight (Luke 24:50, 5150And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50‑51)).
Let it not be thought that there is ever a cloud between us and Him. He comes to us, He who is the pre-eminently glorified One comes to us. He who is the brightest and supremest in the heaven, of heavens comes even now.
He comes to us here. You find in the 14th chapter of John, that the Lord first speaks of coming, personally, to receive unto Himself those whom He is loving in the world. He said, I go away, I am coming again. “If I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself.” But if you continue the reading of that chapter, you will find that He speaks again of His coming. He then says, “I will not leave you orphans in this world; I will come to you” (verse 18). Does this refer to His coming in the day for which we are all waiting when He will receive us unto Himself? No. There He had been speaking about the advent of the Holy Spirit, and it was in connection with His advent that the Lord said, “I will come to you,” “I will be with you.” And the Spirit who was sent, is the one given for the very purpose of making the presence of the Son known and felt here in this world. Just as no man knew the Father but the Son, who was here upon the earth and who spoke those illuminating words that set forth the Father Himself, so the Holy Ghost is here at the present time to give every believer to know the close companionship of the One in the glory.
Do we not remember that other promise of the Lord before His departure, Lo, I am with you alway, every day, all the days, all the bright days and all the dark days, the days of happiness and the days of sadness?” “Always” means that in an uninterrupted way He is, with us. Beloved friends, ye often speak about the Lord Jesus as if He was an absent friend. It is good to talk of one whom we love but who is far away. It is good to hold intercourse concerning such a one. It is good to receive communications from him, but much better when he is present with us. And the Lord Jesus is equally dear, whether He is with us or not, but if we can see Him and hear Him by faith— if we are conscious of His presence all the day, it is blessed indeed. Is it too much to expect that when the Lord Jesus said, “Lo, I am with, you alway” that you and I in the experience of our souls day, by day may be enabled to realize that He is with us? Did He not mean this when He said “Lo, I am with you alway?” Did He not mean also that we should delight to have, the experience of it? and that we should see to it that we are standing in the light and power of His promise?
But how often the Lord's voice has to come to us like the voice of a trumpet. Now, a trumpet is to awaken the dead. The trumpet is used in Scripture as an indication of authority and summons; and the Lord had to speak to the beloved apostle, the one whom He loved, with a voice like thunder. And John turned and saw Him. Boanerges saw His love, His matchless pity, but He also saw that wondrous Person transfigured now. Once he beheld a glorious vision on the holy mount; but that was for a moment only. John was not prepared for it, he was afraid of it then; but now it was the Lord's day in Patmos, and He was in the Spirit. The Spirit gave him to witness the glory of his absent Master, and as he looked on Him, he saw His power. He also saw the dignity with which He was invested, His purity, His holiness. He saw that everything bespoke power, and administrative strength, and that the living Lord was in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
The whole church of God was represented by this symbol of the candlesticks, and Jesus was seen in the midst, the place that He must always have. If there are but two or three gathered to His name, He will come to be in the midst. So there He was seen in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. Had He forsaken them? Was He up there in the glory, and was He in unconcern suffering His church to be buffeted by the winds and waves of persecution? No, He was in the midst. And look in His right hand-there are seven stars. There is a star for every church, and a star for Laodicea. He will not be content with six, He will have seven. He holds in His hand of power the seven stars.
Beloved friends, do not let us lose heart, do not let us lack courage, do not let us be overborne with despair by the distracting things. Look at that glorious Man of power and what He has in His right hand. He will maintain the seven stars to the very end. And in this manner the apostle saw Him. The effect upon the exile was remarkable. It was what might not have been expected from John, who was so attached in heart to his Master. When he beheld Him he fell at His feet as one dead. Why was this prostration? We may rather ask how could he keep himself in an erect position in the presence of such glory? He must go down.
Beloved friends, it is always when in the power of the Spirit of God we by faith have a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we assume a right attitude of worship. There is many a person, both old and young, who strives in vain to work himself up to a frame of worship. Worship is not forced, but spontaneous. It springs up like a well. What causes it to spring up? The power behind it, of course. You gather together, two or three of you, and there is an unseen Person present there. It is for you to see His glory. Do not let any distractions annoy you. Do not let the noise disturb your heart. No, see to it that all these things are lost upon you, and that when you are together you have vividly before you the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. All will be well then, because you are in line with the operations of the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is here to display the perfections of the Person of Christ, and I cannot see Him unless the Holy Spirit so works in my heart that I do see Him by faith: then I must worship Him. Hence there arises worship in spirit and in truth, and there is a needful preparedness of heart for this, which is expressed in this way. [W.J.H.]
(To be continued).