rtf1ansiansicpg1252deff0deflang1033fonttblf0fnilfcharset0 Georgia;f1fnilfprq2fcharset0 Padua; colortbl ;red0green128blue0; viewkind4uc1pardf0fs24 par b Fear And Its Remedy.b0 par par cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_1:17-18cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24. par par The spirit of this book, as of all others written by God, is the 'testimony of Jesus.' It bears witness to him throughoutu8212?to His person, His work, His kingdom. Here are things both new and old concerning Him. He is the Revealer, and He is the revealed One; the Teacher and the lesson; the Sower and the seed. In the marvelous visions of this prophecy respecting Him and His kingdom, faith has much to rest on, and hope much to feed on. They are worthy of all studyu8212?and 'blessed is he who reads.' par par The three things in this passage which need our notice, areu8212? par par (1) The vision. par par (2.) The apostle's alarm. par par (3.) The comfort administered by Christ. par par b I. The VISION.b0 "And when I SAW Him." That which John saw was real; so that of it he could say, 'That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you' (cf11ulbf1fs22 1Jo_1:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). He saw the Lord; and he knew that it was He. He 'beheld His glory' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Joh_1:14cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). It was this same glorious Christ that Isaiah saw upon His throne (cf11ulbf1fs22 Isa_6:1-3cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). It was He whom Ezekiel saw in His majesty, seated in the chariot of the cherubim (cf11ulbf1fs22 Eze_1:24cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24, cf11ulbf1fs22 Eze_1:26cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24; cf11ulbf1fs22 1Ch_28:18cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24; cf11ulbf1fs22 Psa_18:10cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). It was He whom Daniel saw 'clothed in linen,' and 'girded with gold,' and resplendent as the lighting (cf11ulbf1fs22 Dan_10:5-6cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). It was a vision of the Son of manu8212?not as He was in the day of His weakness and sorrowu8212?but as He now is in the day of His might and gladness. A glimpse of this glory John had seen, some sixty years before, on the transfiguration mountainu8212?but hastily and with dazzled eyes. This was more prolonged and completeu8212?intended, moreover, for a steadier gaze. par par It was the very Son of man who stood beside him, even He who, though 'crucified through weakness, lives by the power of God;' even He who died, and was buried, and rose again, and ascended into the heavens, and sits in glory at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. He appears now clothed in flowing clothing, and girt with a golden belt. His head and hair are of effulgent whiteness; His eyes like flames; His feet like glowing brass; His voice like many waters; seven stars in His right hand; a glittering sword flashing from His mouth; His face like the noonday sun! par par It was a vision of wondrous splendoru8212?very unlike what John had been accustomed to see in Christ; unlike the son of the carpenter; unlike the Man of sorrows, with his much-marred visage; unlike the crucified criminal, with bleeding head, and pierced hands and feet. In this heavenly vision, all that was feeble and earthly, all that was sad, and bruised, and weary, had passed away, like clouds passing from the sun, and leaving it to give forth the fullness of its radiance. He seemed now clothed with heaven itself, in all its majesty and brightness! par par A vision like this suited John well in his lonely exile. The last of the apostlesu8212?the sorrowful survivor of a whole generation of beloved ones, most of whom had died the martyr's deathu8212?persecuted for his Lord's sakeu8212?how cheering for him to be thus reminded that He, for whose sake he suffers, is the GLORIOUS One! It suited no less the seven Churches to whom he wroteu8212?sustaining them in their sufferings, rousing them from their sloth, and rebuking them for their loss of first love and early faith. It suits us no less in these last days. We need to be reminded of the glory of Him whom we are following. It will comfort us in tribulation; it will shame us out of unfaithfulness; it will nerve us for battle and for toil; it will quicken, and invigorate, and purify. par par b II. The apostle's ALARM.b0 'I fell at His feet as one dead.' Similar to this was the effect of ISAIAH'S visionu8212?'Then I saidu8212?Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Isa_6:5cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). Similar to this was the effect of EZEKIEL'S vision, when he 'fell on his face' at 'the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Eze_1:28cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). Still more similar to this was the effect of DANIEL'S vision, when not only 'a great quaking fell upon the men that were with him, so that they fled to hide themselves,' but he himself 'retained no strength,' and his 'loveliness was turned into corruption' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Dan_10:7-8cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). Similar to this was the appearance of the angel to ZECHARIAH in the temple, of which it is said, that 'when Zechariah saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Luk_1:12cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). In the case, too, of the Bethlehem SHEPHERDS, the effect was similaru8212?'The glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were greatly afraid' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Luk_2:9cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). But the TRANSFIGURATION vision was most similar to this of the Revelation, both because John himself was there, and Jesus had there put on the heavenly glory in all its radiance. It is said that, when the disciples saw and heart it, 'they fell on their face, and were greatly afraid' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Mat_17:6cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). par par In all this there was the old idea (circulating even among the heathen), that no man could see God and liveu8212?an idea which man's evil conscience suggests, believing that God must be the sinner's enemy, that He can only show Himself in order to slay him. Not discriminating between what was true in this idea and what was false, even righteous men were filled with terror at the visible manifestations of God. And though we might have expected something different from this in the beloved disciple, when his old Master appeared to him, still let us remember that he was still in flesh and bloodu8212?still a feeble, imperfect man, both in soul and body. par par Besides this, there was much fitted to overawe him. The vision was so SUDDEN and so GLORIOUSu8212?the splendor so overpowering, the voice so majestic, the place so lonely, that it was not amazing that he should have 'fallen at His feet as one dead;' especially as the contrast in appearance between the Christ that he knew once, and the Christ that he saw now, was so great. He could still recognize his Lord; but how marvelously changed! And this outward change might for a moment raise the thought that there could not have been the same familiar fellowship as in the days of His sorrowing lowliness. par par We know how the altered dress, and circumstances, and manners of a long-absent friend, suddenly returning, suggests misgivings as to the continuance of confidence and love, and we are not sure how far we may count upon his friendship. Here there might be something of this feeling in the apostle's mind; and, at any rate, the heavenly glory could not but be overwhelming to one who had still but the tremulous frame of mortality, the feeble eyes and ears of earthly imperfection. par par This vision of the Holy One, side by side with himself, would make the apostle feel his unholiness, and cry out, like Isaiahu8212?'I am unclean!' Self-abhorrence could not but be uppermost in his mind, even though fear might be cast out by love. Nor is there anything more fitted still to deepen our sense of sin, and give us true self-loathing, than direct dealing with the Holy Oneu8212?the being brought into contact with Himself, whether in His grace or glory. The law may fail; comparison with our fellow men will fail; inspection of self will fail; but direct transaction with the Lord Himself will accomplish all. Compare yourselves with Himu8212?that will searchu8212?that will abase. par par But if John, who had known Christ so well and long, was thus overawed at the gloryu8212?what will become of you, O Christless sinner! In the day of the full revelation of that glory? How horrendous will that day be to you! How it will overwhelm you! O sinner, learn to know this Christ now as the Savior, before the day arrives when you shall see Him as the Judge! His LOVE would save you nowu8212?His MAJESTY will crush you then. par par b III. Christ's method of COMFORTING His apostle, and soothing his alarm.b0 He begins this by laying His right hand on himu8212?the right hand where was 'the hiding of His power' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Hab_3:4cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24), and in which John had just seen the seven stars; that right hand which John had so often beheld raised to heal and to bless; the right hand in which were the marks of the nails! As the expression of condescension and kindness, as the symbol of priestly blessing, the action would at once be understood by the apostle; and the touch of the well-known hand, thus laid on the head of the apostle as he lay upon the ground, would be of itself reassurance and peace. par par While the gracious right HAND is thus laid on John, the WORDS of grace accompany the actionu8212?'Fear not.' In these there is no hidden spell, no native power to calm, apart form the recognized character of Him who speaks themu8212?just as the effect of a promise depends on the ascertained mind and power of the promiser. 'Fear not' coming from the lips even of the glorified Son of man, could not fail to recall times when they were used to the disciples by this same Christ, in the days of His earthly humiliation; so that the effect of this utterance, in the ears of the apostle, was at once to identify the present glorious Being with that Jesus who had gone out and in with His disciples on earth, and who thus declared Himself to be the same in mind and heart, the same in love and sympathy, as when He calmed their fears upon the Sea of Galilee with the kindred wordsu8212?'It is I; do not be afraid!' par par Before the words 'Fear not' can have any effect in calming a single fear, or dispelling a single doubt, there must be the knowledge of the character of Him who speaks them. Until then they are as idle wind. Suppose that you lose your way in the wide desert, and with its terrors compassing you on every side, you begin to tremble for your safety. An unknown wanderer passes you, and says "Fear not' but his words do not calm you. One of your fellow travelers says, 'Fear not' but neither do his words soothe you. But suddenly you meet with some well-known Arab acquaintance, some chief of the desert, in whom you have confidence, and he says, 'Fear not!' you are reassured in a moment. par par So is it in your transactions with the Lord. You must know WHO and what He is before His words of peace will avail. Know Him, and His one 'Fear not' will suffice to cheer and sustain you in any circumstances of danger, or perplexity, or conscious unworthiness. He who received publicans and sinners, who went to be 'a guest with a man who was a sinner,' is just such an one as you may go to, and such an one as can say to you, 'Fear not!' with the certainty that the gracious words proceeding from His well-known lips, do mean all that they seem to do, and will speak to you all the peace which they seem to contain. par par The announcements that follow all bear upon this point. They not only say, 'It is I,' but they show WHO and what this 'I' is. They give reasons for the 'Fear not' and these reasons are all concerning the speaker Himself. It is what He tells us about Himself that He expects to soothe us and to banish alarm; for it is only His 'perfect love' that can cast out fear, and restore confidence to the soul. Hear, then, what he says: par par b (1.) I am the FIRST.b0 This would recall to John the words of his own Gospelu8212?'In the beginning was the Word' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Joh_1:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); 'the same was in the beginning with God' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Joh_1:2cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). It recalls to us the psalmist's expression, 'From everlasting' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Psa_90:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24), and the description, in the eighth chapter of Proverbs, as to the unbeginning eternity of Wisdom (cf11ulbf1fs22 Pro_8:22cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); and reminds us of Paul's 'yesterday'u8212?the everlasting yesterday (cf11ulbf1fs22 Heb_13:8cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24), for the two passages correspond strikingly. And in the announcement, 'I am the first and the last,' we recognize the same truth as, 'Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever.' The epithet 'first' points to time, or rather to eternity; 'Alpha' to eternal wisdom; and 'beginning' to creatorship, as it is written, 'In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Gen_1:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). He thus means to say to John, 'Fear notu8212?I am the eternal One!' par par b (2.) I am the LAST.b0 Not that to Him there is truly any 'last;' for to Him, as the true Melchizedek, there is 'neither beginning of days, nor end of life' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Heb_8:3cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); but He stands in the place of that which men call 'laws,'u8212?He is the crowning, the consummating, the summing up of allu8212?the great Circumference, as He is the great Center of the universe! He is not only 'FROM everlasting,' but 'TO everlasting;' the same 'today, and forever', as He was 'yesterday;' the 'Omega' as truly as the 'Alpha;' the 'ending' as much as the 'beginning.' par par As God, the eternal Son, He is neither first nor lastu8212?but as the Christ, the God-man, He is both; and He is all that can be supposed to be included in both. As all the past eternity was His, so is all the future; and over all that future He watches; all that future He regulates in behalf of His ownu8212?'for His body's sakeu8212?which is the church.' Well may He say to John, 'I am the last,' 'fear not!' par par b (3.) I am the LIVING One.b0 Thus should the passage be readu8212?'I am the first, and the last, and the living One.' Throughout Scripture the name of the Messiah is associated with life. He isu8212?Jehovahu8212?the I Amu8212?the Being of beingsu8212?the Possessor of all lifeu8212?the giver of all lifeu8212?the living and the life-giving One. His association with death is only transientu8212?and that for the purpose of overcoming death, and bringing life out of death. He is the PRINCE of lifeu8212?He is the LIGHT of lifeu8212?He is the BREAD of Lifeu8212?He is the WATER of life. Everything connected with LIFE is linked with Him; for as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself. par par The words, "I am living One,' would remind John of the many things which he himself had narrated, and of the many words he had recorded concerning Christ as the Life; for he, of all the evangelists, has brought this great truth before us. It was as the Living One that He said, 'the Son quickens whom he will' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Joh_5:21cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). 'He who believes in me has everlasting life. This is the bread that came down from heaven, that if a man eats of it, he shall not die. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Joh_6:50-54cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). par par Ah! Truly it was the living One who spoke such words as these; and it is as the living One that He utters them still. We fall at His feet, like John, as one dead! He lays His right hand upon us, and says to us, "fear not; I am the living One;' it is not death, but life, that I have come to bring; and in beholding the glory of the living One, it is life, not death, that you should look for! par par b (4.) I was DEAD.b0 Or, more literally, 'I became dead,' I laid down my life. His word of cheer to John, then, is; 'Fear not; I am He who died.' The words here remind us of those of Paulu8212?'Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is Christ who died.' Yes; it was with the Christ who died, that Paul had to do; and it was with the Christ who died that John also had to do, though, in the blaze of the glory that now dazzled him, he seems to have lost sight of this. To this, however, the Lord recalls him, in order to reassure him. He takes him back to the cross, and reminds him of what he saw and heard there. He sends him to the tomb, that he may again look upon the dead body of his Master. par par And thus reminding him of the cross and tomb, He reproves his present terror, and makes him feel how unlikely, how impossible it was that any amount of 'glory, and honor, and power, and majesty,' such as that with which he was now surrounded, could alter the relationship between them, or make Him less the Christ whom he knew so well on earth; less the SAVIOR whom, as a sinner, he needed then, and needed stillu8212?less the LAMB of God that takes away the sin of the worldu8212?or make himself less the disciple whom Jesus lovedu8212?less the trusted one, to whom his Lord had confided that most precious of earthly deposits, His mother, when dying on the cross. It is as if He had said, 'Fear not; I am the SAME Jesus whom you saw die upon the cross, whom you saw lying in Joseph's tomb. Yes, fear not! I was dead.' par par b (5.) I am ALIVE for evermore.b0 'Though I died once, yet I die no moreu8212?death has me no moreu8212?death has no more dominion over meu8212?I LIVE forever!' To have died, and yet to have triumphed over deathu8212?no, to have triumphed over it by dying, so that never again could death approach Himu8212?this was the truth by which the risen Christ comforted His affrighted apostle. In DEATH He showed Himself the Lord of life! In LIFE He showed Himself the Lord of death! In dying, and living again, He showed Himself all that a sinner needs to give him boldness in his dealings with Him. This ever-living One, with whom death has now no more to do; this ever-living One, between whom and everything pertaining to death, a great gulf is fixedu8212?He it is with whom we have to deal, in the great transactions of life and death. par par He is made our Melchizedeku8212?Priest and Kingu8212?'after the power of an endless life;' and the life which he possesses forever is something more than what He possessed before His death, or could possess simply as Godu8212?it is "resurrection life", which only He who died could have, and with which He was filled for us in consequence of having died. That which we need, both for body and soul, is RISEN life, resurrection-life, the life of Him who has risen! And it is this that He so specially announces here when He says, 'I am alive for evermore!' par par Here John abruptly interposes his hearty and joyful "Amen!" as if this announcement were the one which he most rejoiced in, and which at once woke up an echo in his bosom. He hears the words, 'I am alive for evermore;' and appreciating something of the might import of these words, and looking forward into that long eternity, during which he was to be partaker of all the life which this risen One possessed, he exclaims, with eager gladness, 'Amen!' par par A sentiment like that which we always find used in the Old Testament in reference to kingsu8212?'Let the king live forever. Amen.' It was in the eternity of this risen life of Christ that John rejoicedu8212?in that same eternal life of the risen One let us rejoice, adding our Amen to that of the apostle, and saying, 'I know that my Redeemer lives!' Oh blessedness unspeakable! Oh consolation beyond all others! To be told that, in a dying world like ours, there is a living One like thisu8212?One all made up of lifeu8212?One whom death can never touchu8212?of whom no one can ever bring to you the tidings, "He is no more!" par par No amount of death in us can affect Him, or prevent us receiving His endless life. Our death is swallowed up in this boundless life; so that, where 'death' has abounded, their 'life' abounds much more. This is the tree of life, whose leaves are health, whose fruit is immortality. Let us gather round and under this great 'Plant of Renown'; from it to draw present life to our souls, and the assurance of resurrection to ourselves, and to all who have slept in Jesus! par par b (6.) And have the KEYS of hell (Hades) and death.b0 He claims power over soul and body, and over those regions into which they pass when separated here one earth. He opens, and none can shut! He shuts, and none can open! No one can enter these places except by means of Himu8212?nor can any pass out of these except by His authority. He is absolute Lord of the invisible world, in all its realms! par par This truly is blessed to the bereaved. It is not chance, nor natural causes, nor fate, nor the necessity of mortal disease. It is Christ Himself, Christ the living one, who effects the deathu8212?and in doing so takes both soul and body into His own keeping. In this sense is the sickbed His, and the deathbed His, and the burial His. He it is who is loosing life's bonds for a season, removing with His own hands, each of His own, and saying to body and to soulu8212?Go in peace! par par Nor can that invisible world hold any of its tenants one moment longer than He pleases. He keeps the KEYS, and as He leads in, so does He lead out. As He unlocks the gate in order that they may enter, so does He again unlock it, in order that they may leave itu8212?to put on incorruption and strength and glory. No enemy, either of Himself or of the Church, shall prevail to hinder the unlocking of the gate, and the great exodus of the rising saints. Not the power of Satan, nor of death, nor of Hadesu8212?shall prevail. He has the keys of Hades and of death, and he will yet bring forth His own in triumph. 'The gates of Hades shall not prevail against His Church.' Though guarded by all the powers of hell, they shall be unlocked by Him who keeps the keysu8212?they shall fly open, and the saints shall come forth to resurrection-glory! par par Is it not true that 'all things are oursu8212?whether life or death, things present, or things to come'? (cf11ulbf1fs22 1Co_3:22cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). For He is ours who is Lord of all theseu8212?'You are Christ's, and Christ in God's.' If so, we may hear the voice that spoke to John speaking also to USu8212?"Fear notu8212?I have the keys of Hades and of death. Fear not the resurrection and the life. Fear not, I will yet swallow up death in victory; I will be its plague; I will the destruction of the grave; my dead people shall arise and live! Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust.' par par What an antidote to fear, what a consolation in bereavement, what a binding up of wounds is this! Christ is Lord over all; over death and the grave, over the body and the soul. He binds, and none can loose. He looses, and none can bind. He kills, and none can make alive. He makes alive, and none can kill. He scatters, and none can gather. He gathers, and none can scatter. And to us He says, 'Fear not; I am the first, and the last and the living One.' We have known what death is, we shall now what life is; we have known what the grave is, we shall know what resurrection is; we have known the killing, we shall know the making alive; we have known the binding, we shall know the loosing; we have known the scattering, we shall know the gathering; we have known the corruption, we shall know we shall know the incorruption; we have known the withering, we shall know the blossoming; we have known the parting we shall know the meeting; we have known the sorrow, we shall know the glory and joy. par par Thus it is that the words of consolation are all concerning Christ Himself. The counteraction of all fearu8212?the removal of all doubtu8212?comes from the knowledge of Christ Himself. 'Then were the disciples gladu8212?when they saw the Lord.' He spoke peace to His apostle John by reminding him of who and what He was and is. So does He still speak to usu8212?nor will one fear ever be dispelled, or one doubt removed, in any other way. The sight of Christ will do everythingu8212?no other sight will do anything. A simpler, fuller knowledge of this gracious One is all that we need to give us perfect peace, and to keep us in that peace forever!