25. THE PARABLE OF THE NET CAST INTO THE SEA

The Lord has now completed the sad story of the mingling of Satan's tares with the wheat of God : it only remains to speak of the final separation, which shall once more make it easy to discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. And this time of judgment is depicted in the Parable of the net.

The sea here, as often in Scripture, represents the world in agitation. So the Psalmist says of the Lord ; —"Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples."¹

¹ Psa. lxv. 7. So, too, in Daniel's vision, the four Gentile World-powers are seen to emerge from the raging sea.

SUMMARY OF THE SEVEN PARABLES.

The net is the circle of the visible Church, all the Christian sects which are used for the gathering in of God's people. We may, however, remark that nets do not catch all the fish of the sea, nor is even a mere profession universal. Also that, although fish of every kind are caught, there are at last but two sorts: all are either good or bad.

The net is not brought to the shore, which is the end of this age of restless confusion, until it is full: for God has fore-ordained how many of the human race shall come within the circle of the Gospel during the times of the Gentiles. And the first indication that it has been drawn up will be the removal of a number of believers into the presence of their Lord: then the separating process will be continued by a second ascension of saints, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet; and finished by the appearing of the Lord in glory and the destruction of the wicked. Thus the good will first be gathered into vessels, and then the bad will be cast away.

X

SUMMARY OF THE SEVEN PARABLES.

Such, then, is the first great revelation in regard to the career of the nominal Church. The Lord sows good seed; but the bad soil of human hearts renders it for the most part unfruitful. And where it is growing well, an enemy causes disastrous confusion by stealthily introducing disguised children of the Wicked One among the children of the Kingdom. Changed by this evil admixture, the professing Church casts off her humility, and, ceasing to wait for the Lord from heaven, strives to establish herself upon earth. Throwing aside the cross, she desires to say, "I sit a queen, and am no widow"; and, in order to gratify her ambition, enters into a shameful alliance with the great ones of earth, and suffers the Powers of Darkness, the devourers of the word, to take shelter in her branches. With such counsellors and helpers she organizes herself, and so corrupts the whole word of God by the teachings of demons that it can no longer be recovered, any more than fine flour can be again purified from that which has once leavened it. After a while there follows a time of partial revival, corresponding to the reformation of the Jews under Zerubbabel and Joshua, but also resembling that movement in its speedy subsidence to apathy and deadness. During this period, however, the word is able to be separated from the field, though it could not be recovered from the leaven, and many a one comes upon it unexpectedly, and receives it with joy as a great treasure, although in order to obtain it he must needs buy the whole field. Then the word is again hidden; not, however, at this time by fixed and rigid dogmas, but by opinions of perplexing variety which are ever shifting like the waves of the sea. Yet the agitated and threatening state of the world moves some to search earnestly for Divine revelation and truth, and those who do so find the pearl of great price, and if they are willing to give up all else, may possess and enjoy it. At the close of this period the Lord suddenly begins to pass in review the whole of Christendom, all the nations who have heard His Gospel, and by taking those who have accepted it to Himself, and casting the obstinately rebellious into a furnace of fire, at length effects the separation which His servants are not

THE PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE.

permitted to attempt, and finishes the mystery of God.

Who can thoughtfully consider these Parables and refuse to admit their striking fulfilment, thus far, in the history of the professing Church, together with the grave inference that the days of this dispensation are numbered?

XI.

THE PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE.

Before we examine the prophecy contained in the Epistles to the Seven Churches, it will be necessary to have some idea of the general scheme of the Apocalypse—that last gift of the Lord Jesus to His people, that book without a little understanding of which it is unlikely that any Christian will be kept from the delusions, religious and political, which are now overspreading the earth. “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

The beloved apostle was suffering affliction, on the barren island of Patmos, “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ,” when the revelation was made to him.

He was, as he tells us, “in spirit on the Lord’s day,” that is, according to the majority of interpreters, “in spirit on the first day of the week.” But by such an explanation John is made to introduce a term unknown to the New Testament in place of the invariable designation of the Christian Sabbath. Moreover, the sense thus educed is weak and inadequate, having no apparent connection with the revelations which follow.

To us, then, although we admit a slight grammatical difficulty,¹ the rendering, "I was in spirit in the Day of the Lord," seems far more probable, and by adopting it we both secure a vigorous sense which bears upon the whole Book, and at the same time preserve for the expression, "the Lord's day," or the day belonging to the Lord, that meaning which, however much subsequent usage may have departed from it, is always retained in the Old and New Testaments.

By the words "in spirit" John explains his own condition: he was not, like Paul on a similar occasion, uncertain in regard to it, but fully aware that he was out of the body and on the plane of spirit. "In the Day of the Lord," on the contrary, has reference to the external surroundings in which he found himself, and furnishes us with a general clue for the interpretation of the visions. A strictly analogous description may be found in the second verse of the fourth chapter, where he says;—"And immediately I was in spirit; and, behold, a Throne."

If the clause be thus understood, it contains an announcement that the vision is for the time of the end, dealing first with Christ's judgment of the whole career of His Church, and then passing on to the last of the Seventy Weeks in which He will have His great

¹ We speak of it as slight, because the Greek of the Apocalypse is by no means severe Attic, and John may have had in mind rather the fact that he found himself in the Day of the Lord than that he was projected thither. In that case there would be little difference between the construction of this sentence and the ἐγενόμην ἐν τῇ νήσῳ of the preceding verse.

A good parallel to ἡ κυριακὴ ἡμέρα, in the sense of the Day of the Lord, may be found in Paul's use of ἀνθρωπίνη ἡμέρα for "man's day" in opposition to it. See 1 Cor. iv. 3—5. The E. V. has "man's judgment," which is, however, an exposition, not a translation.

THE PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE.

controversy with Jew and Gentile. Such a meaning will be in exact accord with the nineteenth verse, and also, as we shall presently see, with the whole structure of the Book.

While, then, in spirit, and disengaged from earthly things, John suddenly heard behind him a great voice, like that of a trumpet, saying ;—"What thou seest, write in a book, and send it to the Seven Churches; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."

At the sound of this voice John turned, and beheld a vision which, at first, may have suggested to him the Holy Place of the Temple. But it was not the Temple: for he quickly perceived an absence of familiar objects; there was neither altar of incense, nor table of shewbread. Nor was he gazing upon any of those heavenly realities which were shown as a pattern to Moses on the Mount; for, in place of a single seven-branched lampstand, seven distinct lamps were set before him.

What he saw was the heavenly Sanctuary arranged for the present parenthetical dispensation. And, consequently, all that had formerly represented Christ was now removed, because He was present in His own person: John beheld nothing save the Lord and the symbols of the Church for which He had died. There were seven separate lamps of gold, connected only by their association with a glorious Priestly Figure walking in the midst of them.

But why this change from the one seven-branched lamp of Israelitish times?¹ The Lord Himself presently

¹ It will, perhaps, occur to the reader that there were ten lamp-stands in the Temple of Solomon (1 Kings vii. 49; 2 Chron. iv. 7).

gives the reason: each lamp represents the Church of a particular place; so that they indicate locality, and not, as some have supposed, the human divisions of sect, which could never be recognized in the heavenly Sanctuary.

In the previous dispensation there had been one earthly and visible centre of worship; and, to signify this, the lamp of the Tabernacle was in one piece. But now there is no Jerusalem to which men must go: true worshippers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth. And the Church of Christ is defined for us as consisting of "all that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours."¹ Therefore in every locality the whole body of believers, to whatever outward denomination they may individually belong, collectively form the lamp of that place.

Alas! that Christians should so often ignore this fact of their unity; or, if their lips confess it, convict themselves of hypocrisy by their deeds! Yet, even though they be born again, God can only delight in them while they are walking as brethren; for they are members of Christ's body, of His flesh and of His bones. The

But we are not told what became of the original light which had stood in the Tabernacle, and may, therefore, probably conclude that it occupied its proper place in the Temple, and understand, with the Rabbis, that the ten were additional to it and distinct in meaning. For in the reign of Abijah we still find mention of a single lampstand of gold which it was the priest's duty to keep burning throughout the night (2 Chron. xiii. 1).

In the Temples of Zerubbabel (1 Macc. i. 21; iv. 49) and Herod, also, we hear of but one, which, upon the destruction of its last resting place, was carried to Rome, and, after having graced the triumph of Titus, was deposited in the Temple of Peace. According to one legend it was finally lost in the Tiber, having fallen into the water from the Milvian bridge during the headlong flight of Maxentius from Constantine.

¹ 1 Cor. i. 2.

THE PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE.

distinctions of sect, however impossible it may be to get rid of them in this present distress, owe their existence to human sin and lack of love. Consequently, they will altogether disappear when the Church is glorified, and should be kept as much as possible out of sight in the Church militant.

Standing, then, in the midst of the golden lamps was the majestic form of the High Priest Who has entered into the heavens, now to appear in the presence of God for us. John did not, however, see Him in the heavenly Holy of holies turned toward God in intercession, but in the Holy Place watching the lamps, that is, directing and judging His Church. He was not yet clad in the robes of glory and beauty: for His dress apparently corresponded to the linen garments which were used in ordinary priestly service, and especially by the High Priest on the great Day of Atonement. Then, after the sin-offerings had been sacrificed, the atonement in the Holy of holies accomplished, and the scape-goat sent away, Aaron put off the garb of service in the Holy Place, and, clothing himself in his splendid array, lifted up the veil, and appeared to the waiting people in token that their iniquity was covered. But Christ's intercession was not yet ended: it was not the time for Him to fulfil this type by appearing to them that look for Him without sin unto salvation.

He was clad in a garment reaching down to the feet, and girt with a golden girdle. His head and His hair were white and lustrous; His eyes like flames of fire; His feet as brass glowing in the furnace; and an effort is made to give some idea of the fulness and majesty of His voice by the glorious comparison that it was as the sound of many waters. In His right hand—held, perhaps, as a garland—were seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; while the face, in which there was once no beauty to be desired, the visage, which was so marred more than any man, was now resplendent as the sun shining in his strength.

And although even this was far from being the fulness of His glory, yet the beloved disciple was unable to bear it, and fell at His feet as dead.

Then the Lord touched him, and again John heard the loving words, "Fear not," and was strengthened to receive the command;—"Write the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass after these."¹ It was thus evidently implied that the revelation to be written by the apostle would consist of three distinct parts: unless, therefore, we can so divide the Apocalypse, it is useless to think of interpreting it.

Now in regard to the first division there can be no difficulty: "the things which thou sawest"² can only refer to the vision of the heavenly Sanctuary, by which

¹ Dean Alford strongly supports a different rendering of this verse;—"Write the things which thou sawest, and what things they signify, and the things which are about to happen after these." The change is scarcely necessary, and, if it be preferred, does not affect our interpretation. For the exposition of what John saw must still reveal the things that are, or the present Church-period as symbolised by the lampstands in the Sanctuary. And the first verse of the fourth chapter still marks the transition from this dispensation to that which shall follow it.

² The aorist tense does, which should be rendered, "thou sawest," and which is repeated in the following verse, seems to imply that the vision had already passed away. In the fourth and succeeding chapters the Sanctuary is altogether different. The laver, the altars, and, finally, the ark of the covenant, reappear, showing that the prophecy is then concerned with the Jews of the last days.

THE PLAN OF THE APOCALYSE.

the difference between the Christian Church and the Jewish system had been exhibited, and the solemn fact revealed that the Lord's eyes of flame are ever upon those who profess to be His.

"The things that are"—or a prophetic outline of the phases of the nominal Church, which were to succeed each other during the present age—naturally follow in the next chapter. They are also continued in the third, but no further: for, in the first verse of the fourth chapter, John sees a door opened in heaven, and hears a voice saying;—"Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass after these."

Then the scene is shifted from earth to heaven; and the ascent of the apostle is doubtless a type of that translation of believers which will close "the things that are," and announce the approaching resumption of the suspended covenant with Israel. Henceforth the Church disappears from the prophecy; and the very name occurs no more till we come to the sixteenth verse of the twenty-second chapter, where "the Churches" are indeed mentioned, but merely as those to whom testimony is given, and not as having any part in the scenes of terror which shall characterize "the things that must be after these." This fact is in itself a most significant hint of the removal of believers from earth before the judgments of the seals, trumpets, or vials, begin; and there is yet stronger evidence of a change of dispensation in the fourth and following chapters.

For we must not forget the difference between the previous age and the present time of grace, in that God had then a visible Kingdom upon earth, which is not the case now. Consequently, during that period, judgment was to be executed upon those who broke His law: vengeance, as we so often find in the Psalms, was imprecated upon all who feared Him not; and it was right to destroy His enemies with the sword.

But the Spirit descended upon our Lord in the form of a harmless dove: and, accordingly, we discover nothing in His teaching or example analogous to the slaying of the firstborn, or the overwhelming of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; nothing like the extirpation of the Canaanites, or the calling down of fire from heaven to consume the adversaries. On the contrary, when His disciples would have had Him imitate Elijah, He replied;—"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Hence any desire of vengeance is unlawful for believers of our age: we are required to love our enemies; and even if we should be persecuted to the death, have for our prayers only such models as, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do"; or, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

The Spirit will, however, in His dove-like form, ascend with the translated Church; and, therefore, in the fourth chapter His influence is very differently represented as "seven torches of fire burning before the throne"—an appearance which corresponds with Isaiah's prophecy that God will, in the times of the end, purge "the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the Spirit of judgment, and by the Spirit of burning."

And this change in the form of the Heavenly Power soon manifests its solemn meaning: for, in the sixth

THE PLAN OF THE APOCALYPSE.

chapter, the plagues of God begin to trouble the world, and the martyrs beneath the altar are heard crying for vengeance. Nor does their petition seem strange when, in the seventh chapter, we discover that Israelites are again the people of the Lord, and that those who are sealed for preservation are of the Twelve Tribes. And, a little later, the commission given to the Two Witnesses to destroy those who would hurt them, and the terrible severity with which they exercise their power, prove that they also are not subject to the laws now in force, but are connected with the dispensation of Moses and Elijah.

It will thus be seen that the plan of the Apocalypse presents no serious difficulty, provided that we remember its threefold division, and interpret it by means of the great clue, the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks. We may sum up its contents as follows.

Chap. i. is a vision of the heavenly Sanctuary prepared for these present times.

Chaps. ii. and iii. reveal the whole career of the visible Church, from the close of the Apostolic period until the Lord comes.

Chaps. iv. and v. exhibit the preparations in heaven for the judgments of the Last Week.

Chaps. vi.—xviii. describe the appalling culmination of wickedness in the last seven years: they also foretell the judgments by which those who corrupt the earth shall be destroyed, while the remnant of Israel is being purged and delivered from the oppression of the world by such fearful signs, and wonders, and plagues, that it shall no more be said;—“The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North, and from all the lands whither He had driven them." These chapters are generally consecutive: we have first the seals, the seventh of which includes the seven trumpets; and then the last trumpet is developed into the seven vials, the final plagues by which the wrath of God is completed. Chaps. xi.—xv. seem to be a parenthesis inserted for the purpose of supplying details of the times of the seals, trumpets, and vials. The seventeenth chapter is partly concerned with the previous history of the Woman and the Beast, in order that the last scene in their joint history may be better understood: the eighteenth describes the fall of Babylon the Great.

Chaps. xix.—xxii. treat of the appearing of the Lord, of the destruction of His enemies, and of the setting up of His Kingdom. Then there is a brief notice of a rebellion which will follow the loosing of Satan from the abyss at the end of the thousand years, and also of the last judgment; and the prophecy closes with a description of the heavenly city.

If it be thus interpreted, the Revelation is no longer a sealed book. Those portions of it which have already become history may be explained without difficulty; while the remainder is, in general outline at least, sufficiently easy of comprehension.

XII

THE EPISTLES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES.

THERE can be no doubt that these letters were primarily intended for the communities to which they are inscribed, and deal with actual circumstances of

THE EPISTLES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES.

the time. But, since they are also called "the things that are," as distinguished from those which shall be hereafter in a different dispensation, it seems equally clear that the Churches addressed must have been selected on account of their representative character. And the arrangement was probably made to serve a double purpose.

In the first place, because, when taken together, they exhibited every phase of Christian society which would ever be found in the various parts of Christendom, and so enabled the Lord to give comfort, advice, exhortation, warning, and threatening, from which something could be found to suit any possible circumstance of His people till the end of the age.

And secondly, because, in the order in which they were given, they foreshadowed the successive predominant phases through which the nominal Church was to pass, from the time when John saw the vision until the Lord should come.

We have thus two reasons for the selection of these particular Churches to the exclusion of others of equal or greater importance, and also for the mystical number seven, which here, as elsewhere, signifies dispensational completeness.

At present we are, of course, mainly concerned with the Epistles as prophetically foreshadowing the great changes which should succeed each other in the condition of the visible Church. This they do in a striking manner; and, indeed, the mere names of the Churches, when their meaning is understood, suggest seven ecclesiastical epochs. These names we now subjoin, before going into details in regard to the Epistles themselves, adding their significations, and the periods of Church history in which they seem to find their fulfilment.

Ephesus = relaxation. The waning of love at the close of the apostolic period.

Smyrna = myrrh, bitterness. The Ten Persecutions.

Pergamos = a tower. Earthly greatness of the Church from the accession of Constantine.

Thyatira = she that is unwearied in sacrifices. The Church of Rome with her perpetually repeated sacrifice of the mass.

Sardis = renovation. The results of the Reformation.

Philadelphia = brotherly love. The gathering out of those who think the love of Christ a stronger bond of union than any ties of sect, and who will be caught up to meet Him when He comes.

Laodicea = the judgment of the people, the Church in which the people constitute themselves judges of what is right. The self-confident body which goes its own way, and is thoroughly satisfied with it, but is rejected of the Lord.

Thus the bare names of the Churches furnish a sketch of the history of Christendom until the end of the age; and the outline, as we shall presently see, is filled in by the Epistles themselves. Nor is it difficult to understand why the Lord chose so peculiar a form for His revelation. For while these chapters have been at all times most useful for reproof, correction, instruction, or encouragement, their prophetic import could scarcely have been discovered, or even suspected, until they were all but fulfilled. And so they would never, by suggesting events that must first happen, cause the Church to say, "My Lord delayeth His

EPHESUS.

coming." And, on the other hand, when, at the time of the end, the Spirit should unveil their hidden meaning, it would bring deep conviction of the nearness of the advent to every thoughtful and reverent mind.¹

XIII.

EPHESUS.

THE believers in Ephesus had, as a Church, enjoyed the greatest privileges; and stirred by the ministry of Paul, Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla, Timothy, Tychicus, and others, they had so far advanced in holiness and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, that Paul, in his Epistle to them, is able to speak in terms of high commendation. But the letter which we are now to consider was dictated some thirty years later, and then the symptoms of a deadly decay were just beginning to appear. Another generation had arisen, still holding fast the tradition of earnest devotion to Christ, but having lost much of the motive power of that

¹ We must not forget that in this prophecy, as in that of the Seven Parables, a phase may be continued, though with contracted area, far beyond the time of its predominance, even, indeed, until the Lord's return. There is a plain intimation that this will be the case with Pergamos—for the Lord has not yet fought against the Balamites with the sword of His mouth; with Thyatira—for the remnant are bidden to hold that fast which they have until He come; with Sardis—for she is told that, unless she watches, He will come upon her as a thief; and with Philadelphia for He promises her that He is coming quickly, and charges her to hold fast that which she has, that no one take her crown. Indeed, the nominal Church will, doubtless, in its last as in its first days embrace communities which, taken together, will exhibit all the characteristics mentioned by Christ; so that each of these Epistles will retain its directly practical value until the end. But at that time the prevailing phase will be the Laodicean.

devotion. And so this Church, with its suggestive name of Ephesus, or "relaxation,"¹ could aptly represent the waning of love at the close of apostolic times.

To the Ephesians, then, the Lord presents Himself as the One Who holds in full control the seven angels of the Churches, and walks continually in the midst of the lamps: for believers who had lost their first love were likely to have forgotten these solemn facts. The result of His ceaseless inspection is, that He knows, not merely every word and deed, but even every thought of the Church; and, most graciously, He first mentions what is deserving of praise.

Their works and labour and patience, in regard to all who were within the pale of the professing body, have not escaped His notice. He has observed their hatred of that which is evil, and their carefulness in testing and detecting the false apostles of whom they had been forewarned.² He has seen, too, their attitude towards them that are without, their steady patience in endeavouring to lead them to Him, and their willingness to bear persecution for His sake; and He has marked that, spite of all hindrance and opposition, they have not grown weary in well-doing.

He has, therefore, no complaint to make in regard to doctrine or work. There is both orthodoxy and energy, and, moreover, a praiseworthy determination to be separate from evil. And yet all this cannot avail. Upon the seemingly perfect Church there is a slowly-spreading plague-spot which causes Him suddenly to change His tone. The praise He has

¹ "ἔφεσος from ἐφίημι, which often means "to let go," or, "loosen the rein."

² Acts xx. 28-30.

EPHESUS.

given is deserved, but He adds;—"Nevertheless, I have¹ against thee that thou hast left thy first love." The teaching, labour, and zeal, of Ephesus were blameless; but her love was waxing cold, and, therefore, she was fast becoming as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

But the Lord would not abandon her to ruin. He calls upon her to remember; to look back upon what she was, that she may mourn for what she is, and cry, "Oh that I were as in months past!" For, after all, this Church, which to the eyes of men seemed perfect and wanting in nothing, is found to be "fallen."

A threat follows. Unless Ephesus repents, and does the first works—not merely feels the first feelings, but does the works which should spring from them—the High Priest will remove her candlestick: she shall be His witness no longer. This chastisement does not involve everlasting destruction, but only the withdrawal of power to bear effectual testimony. Many an unfaithful and worldly-minded believer is smitten by it, and walks the earth deprived of all power of speaking for his Saviour. He may utter words, but they carry no weight: the influence of the Spirit does not accompany them. For the sin of his covetousness, for his selfishness, and because his soul cleaves to the dust of earth, he has been deprived of the gifts which he abused: he is losing the precious seed-time of life: there is no reward laid up in the heavens for him. Such a one can scarcely hope to have boldness in the

¹ The "somewhat" of the Authorized Version is not found in the Greek, and its introduction conceals the severity of the reproof.

Day of Judgment, when he stands before the Throne of Christ to give an account of the things done in the body: he must expect to suffer loss, and to be saved only "so as through fire."

So searchingly has the Lord used His eyes of flame; and in laying bare the condition of Ephesus, He reveals to us the earliest symptom of decline which appeared in the universal Church, the wane of love. But what depths of His tenderness are disclosed by this Epistle! He first speaks at length of those things which He could commend; and then, after a very few words of censure, again reverts to praise. Yet He does rebuke: He will not overlook our faults for the sake of our virtues.

The last thing for which Ephesus may be praised is that she hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which Christ also hates. Possibly those to whom reference is made were a sect of the day in Ephesus; yet nothing is known of their history, all notices in early writers being manifest conjectures framed to explain our Lord's allusion. But, whatever they may have been in the literal Ephesus, it is clear that something more than an unknown party or sect is indicated in a great prediction of the whole Church. And so, in the prophetic interpretation of the Epistle, the name Nicolaitan is doubtless typical—like Jezebel, Sodom, and Egypt, in other parts of the Apocalypse—rather than historical. It signifies "subduers of the laity," or "people,"¹ and its introduction seems to intimate

¹ Νικολαίτοι, from νικαω "to conquer," "overpower," and λαός "people." From the latter word comes the English term "laity," through the adj. λάϊτος. The name Balaam, which is brought into connection with the Nicolaitans in the Epistle to Pergamos,

EPHESUS that the apostolic arrangements for the government of the Churches were beginning to be abused; that some were already striving to act as lords over the charge allotted to them, endeavouring to establish a hierarchy, a clerical caste which should be distinguished from and superior to the great body of believers. No authority for such a scheme could be found in the New Testament, and those who were guided by the word and Spirit of God must have foreseen how disastrous its results would be. For, if successful, it would turn away the eyes of the Church from her great High Priest to human leaders: it would quickly arouse party feelings, cause schisms, and tend to secularize that which should be purely spiritual: and it would thus soften, and finally obliterate, the line of demarcation between the Church and the world, and induce the former to use the tactics, and desire the aid, of the latter.

Paul anticipated Nicolaitanism in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, when he said;—“For I know this, that, after my departing, shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”¹ And these men, since the Ephesian Church had not yet yielded to them, are probably to be identified with those who said they were apostles, but upon trial were detected and found to be liars.²

Peter also throws out a hint that the evil was has a still stronger meaning, and signifies “devourer of the people.”

¹ Acts xx. 29, 30.

² Rev. ii. 2.

spreading in other Churches, when he entreats the elders to whom he is writing not to exercise the oversight of their flocks as if they were lords over the charge allotted to them.¹ And John refers to a particular case, and speaks of one Diotrephes, who loved to have the pre-eminence, and was casting out of the Church those who would not submit to him.²

But all this mischief had been foreseen and reprobated by the Saviour Himself in the memorable words;—"Ye know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Not so shall it be among you: but whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant."³

The significant manner in which the Lord notes the rejection, for the time, of the Nicolaitans by Ephesus, coupled with the emphatic addition of the words, "which I also hate," is, perhaps, a hint that, although the Church was still standing in that particular, she had need to take heed lest she should fall. For if any Church is losing its love to Christ, how can it avoid becoming a mere earthly organization under human leaders?

Some twelve years after the dictation of this letter, Ignatius addressed an epistle to the Ephesians which contains unmistakable evidence that a hierarchy was then being established among them. Ignatius supports it, and gives the most extravagant injunctions respecting obedience to the bishop, which culminate in the words;—"It is manifest, therefore, that we ought to look upon the bishop even as we would look upon

¹ 1 Pet. v. 2, 3. ² 3 John 9, 10. ³ Matt. xx. 25-27.

EPHESUS.

the Lord Himself." The subject appears to have been attracting general attention at the time; for Ignatius often alludes to it, and in his Epistle to the Magnesians, allows himself to say;—"As, therefore, the Lord does nothing without the Father—'For I can,' He says, 'of Mine Own Self do nothing'—so also do ye nothing without the bishop; whether ye be presbyters, or deacons, or laymen?"

Thus, then, the signs of decadence among professing Christians of the first age were the waning of deep and heartfelt love to the Lord Jesus, and a consequent discontent with Him as the only Head of His body the Church—a feeling similar, perhaps, to that which prompted the Israelites to demand a king who should go before them. And so men began to form human organizations, which, whatever their nominal sovereignty, soon proved by their deeds that they owed allegiance, not to Christ, but to His adversary, the Prince of this World.

In the last portion of the Epistle, the promise to

1 Ignat. Ad. Eph. vi.

2 Ignat. Ad. Magn. vii. Ignatius is the first writer who uses the term "bishop" in the modern, rather than in the apostolic, sense. For the apostles instituted only two orders of ministers—elders, or presbyters, and deacons: but as soon as Churches began to be organized among the Hellenists, the Greek term "bishop" (ἐπίσκοπος—that is, "overseer") was frequently substituted for "elder." The two words were, however, strictly synonymous, as we may see by examining the following passages:—Acts xx. 17 and 28; Titus i. 5-7; 1 Peter v. 1, 2. In Phil. i. 1, Paul salutes the bishops and deacons: he would not have left out the presbyters if they had been another order. So, in 1 Tim. iii. 1-7, he speaks of bishops, and then, in vv. 8-13, goes on at once to deacons. Clement of Rome uses bishop and presbyter as interchangeable terms, and the recently discovered "Teaching of the Apostles" contains the command;—"Appoint, therefore, for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord."

the overcomer, the Lord addresses those individual members of the Church who are so guided by the Spirit that they are able to discern even the deep things of God. There is a similar promise at the close of each of the other letters, and they are all drawn from the Old Testament, and arranged in historical order. And so, in this first case, the reward offered is the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

The allusion is singularly appropriate. The parents of our race were created in innocency, and should have eaten of the Tree of Life; but were commanded by God not to touch the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Then another being, the Tempter, appeared upon the scene, and induced them to break God's commandment on the ground of expediency.

Thus they turned from Jehovah and obeyed Satan: they ate of the forbidden fruit, and were, consequently, driven out of the garden, and far away from the Tree which would have made them live for ever.

So, in these early days of the Church, Satan craftily enticed her aside from her Lord; and, as her love towards Him began to wax cold, suggested that His spiritual presence was no sufficient connecting bond for the assemblies of His people upon earth, and that believers must, therefore, endeavour to weld themselves into societies by adopting such forms of government as are usual in the world.

To these seductions she yielded, and, despising the wisdom which is from above, chose rather to be led by that which is earthly, soulish, and demon-like. So her early purity became as the morning dew: she was quickly, as a corporate society, thrust out of the

SMYRNA.

Heavenly places into which she had been called to sit with Christ: her organization began more and more nearly to resemble those of this world: and she was soon fain, by minding earthly things, to seek consolation for the loss of that spiritual power which now remained only with some of her individual members.

XIV.

SMYRNA.

WE have seen that in the first, or Ephesian period, the Church was losing the fervour of her love to the Lord Jesus. In the second, we may discern the correction of this declension, the severe chastening which followed closely upon the early symptoms of corruption. And this is foreshadowed in the Epistle to Smyrna, the very name of which is deeply suggestive:¹ for its root-meaning is "bitterness;" and it then comes to signify "myrrh," an unguent commonly used in connection with death.² The love of the Church for Christ is diminishing, therefore the world which is attracting her must be made bitter: she must be cast into affliction and suffering even unto death. But the loving sympathy of the Lord shines forth in this painful crisis. He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the East wind, and has no censure for the persecuted Church, but only gracious words of praise and encouragement, and a tender exhortation to His own to be faithful unto the end, that He may give them a crown of life.

¹ Σμύρνα is used for μύρρα—that is, myrrh. It is connected with a Hebrew root which shows that "bitterness" is its primary meaning.

² John xix. 39.

He describes Himself to them as the First and the Last: and how comforting is the thought conveyed by this title to those who are suffering and depressed. For at times, when hope has been long deferred, it seems to sickening faith as if God had departed from our world, and none were left to check the cruel power of the enemy. But it is not so: whatever may happen in the meanwhile, He that was the First, and gave the promises, will also appear with irresistible power as the Last to see that they fail not in the very least particular. So that every fainting believer may revive himself with the glorious—though in our version somewhat obscure—words of Job;—"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall arise as the Last One over the dust of my grave."

But the Lord also reminds His troubled people that He is the One "Which was dead and lived again." "When He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them." All their sufferings He has endured in His own person; therefore, He knows how to succour them: His path of death had led to everlasting life; and as it had been with Him, so should it be with His faithful disciples.

With the conditions and trials of this Church also the High Priest is fully acquainted: He has marked her tribulation, and the patience with which she endured it. Whenever affliction has altogether ceased, it is to us much as waters that have flowed by: but He remembers in what spirit we bore it, and will by no means forget our trustfulness, if we have been enabled to commit ourselves into His hand as unto a faithful Creator.

SMYRNA.

The believers in Smyrna were bowed down by oppression, and were also in great poverty; but they had taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods. And the Lord declares that in the meanwhile their treasure in heaven has been augmenting, and that they will presently find themselves exceedingly rich, and a notable example of the word;—“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth.”

But He not only knows the afflictions of His people, and puts all their tears into His bottle: He also sees the cruelty and blasphemy of their oppressors. In the literal application of the Epistle, those “which say they are Jews, and are not,” were probably actual Jews according to the flesh, who in early times were always on the side of the enemies of the Church. And it is worthy of notice that, in the account of Polycarp’s death at Smyrna, certain Jews are mentioned as being active in providing the wood for his martyrdom. It may have been one of the peculiar trials of believers in those days to find the children of Abraham invariably ranged with the Heathen against them. Satan may have plagued many with the suggestion;—“Can you possibly be right? The chosen people themselves are opposed to you, those to whom the oracles of God were committed. The nation which for so many centuries was set forth by God as His witness upon earth, and from which you confess that your Messiah sprang, declares that you are deceived.” But the Lord here intimates that those who were once His people are no longer so, but have become a synagogue of Satan; just as He had previously told them to their faces;—“Ye are of your father the Devil.”

In the prophetic application of the Epistle, those "which say they are Jews, and are not," represent the multitude of false teachers who at this time entered the Church, and of whom we have already spoken in our interpretation of the Parable of the Tares. Many of the so-called Fathers were among them; and they strove, under a false pretext of Old Testament authority, to introduce the Babylonian priestcraft. Their plan was to magnify the importance of outward forms, and then to affirm that none but initiated priests could rightly administer them, a doctrine which the Heathen would well understand. And so, Baptism and the Lord's Supper were conveniently modified; and then, although they are but seldom mentioned in the New Testament, they were made the foundation of the false Christianity.

But the Church in Smyrna was not only suffering from the curses and revilings of Jews, it had also known what it was to be despitefully used and persecuted, and there were yet worse troubles to come. Satan was about to cast some of the disciples into prison, and would even move his agents to slay them. But while the Adversary would do this for their harm, God would turn it into good: it should prove to be that trial of their faith and patience which, after it had finished its work, should leave them perfect and entire, wanting nothing. And although men might take away their lives, the Lord would turn the shadow of death into a glorious and everlasting morning. Ten days were doubtless the exact time of the hottest persecution in the case of the literal Smyrna: in the prophetic interpretation we may, probably, find a reference to the ten great persecutions which began

SMYRNA.

with Nero's cruelties at the close of the apostolic times.

The promise with which this Epistle concludes is pregnant with meaning. There is an evident allusion in the words, "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death," to the entrance of death into the world, after the revolving flame had cut off all access to the Tree of Life. Now of the first martyr, Abel, we are told that by faith he offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, and that God testified to his righteousness by accepting him, while He rejected his brother.¹ But the latter "was of that Wicked One": his envy was excited, and he slew Abel, because his own works were evil and his brother's righteous.² This was the first outburst of enmity from the serpent's seed, and from that time until now, he that is born of the flesh has ever persecuted him that is born of the Spirit. It was not long before the Church discovered this truth, and she had bitter experience of it in the Ten Persecutions.

But she is comforted with the promise that, if she remains faithful, she shall suffer nothing worse than the first death, and shall never be hurt of the second, which is the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.³ And so the Lord here repeats in another form the solemn warning;—"And I say unto you My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you Whom ye shall fear: Fear Him Which after He hath killed hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him."⁴

¹ Heb. xi. 4.

² 1 John iii. 12.

³ Rev. xxi. 8.

⁴ Luke xii. 4, 5.

THE CHURCH OF GOD

XV.

IN examining the third Epistle, we shall find it expedient to consider first its practical bearing as addressed to the literal Pergamos,¹ in order that we may the more clearly understand its prophetic import.

To this Church the Lord is "He that hath the sharp two-edged sword." Against Smyrna the sword of man had been lifted up: but now the sword of the Lord is drawn, and He stands confronting those who are moving toward the world, even as His angel stood in the way of Balaam.

Pergamos, as we have already mentioned, had once been the centre of Paganism, and still retained much of its prestige. It was said to be more devoted to the worship of the deities than any other city of Asia, which is no marvel when we remember how long it had been the head-quarters of the Chaldean priest-king. "It was," says Mr. Blakesley, "a sort of union of a Pagan cathedral city, a university town, and a royal residence embellished, during a succession of years, by kings who had a passion for expenditure and ample means of gratifying it." Its inhabitants were styled νεωκόροι πρῶτοι τῆς Ἀσίας, a title which it is difficult to translate, but which indicated that they were entrusted with the maintenance of some important religious worship on behalf of Asia. What kind of

¹ This name would be more correctly written "Pergamum" but we have not altered the customary form. It is connected with πύργος, "a tower." Hence Πύργομος, or the plural Πύργομα, was the name of the citadel of Troy, and was afterwards used for any citadel.

worship it was, we have no means for determining; probably it was connected with the history which we have already sketched. But, however this may be, the Bible does not leave us in uncertainty as to the supreme importance of Pergamos to Heathendom, since it reveals the fact that Satan's throne was still there. In such a city outbursts of fanatical zeal would be likely to occur, and the Epistle intimates that the followers of Christ had recently suffered from them. Satan had presented himself as a roaring lion: he had torn some of the Pergamean believers, and driven others into great distress; but had effected nothing. The Church had held fast the name of her Lord, and would not deny His faith.

And now the Adversary was changing his tactics: he had lulled the storm of persecution, and was working by means of "false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ." Nay, he was fashioning himself into an angel of light, and using seductive flatteries; so that the Church which could brave his fury was yielding to his fascinations. She had ceased to cast out the false teachers, and they were rapidly bridging the chasm between herself and the world.

And this is the charge which the Lord had to bring against the Pergameans, though He would not utter it until He had first commended their faithfulness in the hour of trial. But ease and prosperity were now rendering them so careless that they were allowing the doctrine of the son of Beor to prevail among them, and did not eject those who held it. This was a symptom of fearful declension: for Balaam, though called of God — to be a prophet, had taught Balak, one of the kings of this world, how to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, by inducing them to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. And that which had been done to the mischief of Israel was now being repeated in order to effect the ruin of the Church at Pergamos.

The first part of Balaam's story is too well known to need repetition: it is sufficiently clear that, had he been permitted, he would have been willing, for the sake of gain, to abuse the powers entrusted to him, and to curse the people of God. In this, however, he was checked by the interposition of the Almighty; but even while the Divine influence was upon him, he continually wavered, and, as soon as it was withdrawn, appears to have given the rein to his covetousness. Through his greed for the wages of the Gentile king, he became anxious to assist him by reducing Israel to the level of Midian, and with this object tendered the fiendish advice, that all open resistance to the pilgrim-nation should be waived, that the hand of friendship should be extended to them, and the pleasures of sin set before them. If by such means they could be drawn into idolatrous abominations, there would no longer be any reason why the special favour of God should rest upon them, or why He should destroy the kingdoms of the world for their sake.

This guileful plan was speedily carried out, and idol festivals, with all their sensual attractions, were held within easy distance of the camp in the wilderness. The curiosity of the Israelites was excited: the feeling which had prompted them to eat and drink and play before the calf was again aroused. Many of them went to see the sight; and, perhaps to their surprise, were received as friends by the Midianites, and invited to join the revel. Surely they could do so—just as they had often been present at the orgies of Egypt—and yet neither worship Baal nor provoke Jehovah. And, after all, Jehovah and Baal were but different names for the same Supreme Being, and the Midianites were serving Him according to their light. By such thoughts, it may be, Israel was enticed within the circle of Heathen abominations, and entered the fatal precincts surrounded—as the people of God always are, if they wilfully approach temptation—by hosts of evil spirits watching for an opportunity of hurling them over the precipice as soon as they could see them near the brink. Perhaps, for a short while, they thought they would only look on; but the allurements of sin quickly overcame them: they were soon feasting at the rich table of Baal, and becoming fascinated with the seducations of the daughters of Moab. Meanwhile, the Lord in the heavens was whetting His glittering sword, bending His bow, and preparing His arrows upon the string against His own rebellious people.

This history seems to have been repeated at Pergamos; for, after a bitter persecution, the Pagans were changing their tactics, and endeavouring under a friendly guise, and by the attractive sensuality of their worship, to lure away those believers whom they had failed to move by fear. And, doubtless, the Gnostics, unwearying mediators between Paganism and a careless Christianity, had crept in among the disciples, and were so bewildering them by skilful blendings and explanations, that they were gradually yielding, and allowing themselves to be drawn into the snare. Their own leaders, too, already accustomed to make a selfish use of their influence, were beginning, like Balaam, to run greedily after the gain which could be secured by conciliating the great ones of earth. And so, as the Church was leaving her appointed camp of separation, the Lord suddenly appeared in the way, and sternly commanded those who were His own to repent, and cast out the Balaamites, lest He Himself should be compelled to use His flashing sword.

Such, then, appears to have been the condition of the Christian community at Pergamos; and, with this knowledge of it, we may proceed to consider the prophetic meaning of the Epistle, as setting before us the third period of the universal Church.

The times of fiery persecution had now passed by. The slaughtered apostles were resting with their Lord; and the ashes of the flaming bodies used to illuminate the gardens of Nero had now lain cold for more than two centuries. The cruelties of Domitian, Trajan, and Adrian, were almost forgotten. Lyons had long ceased to shudder at the pains of Blandina and Pothinus; nor would Perpetua be any more worried by the savage beasts of the amphitheatre, or pierced by the sword of the gladiator. Maximus and Decius were dead: the African lime-kiln and the worship of Jupiter were no longer alternatives. The bloody reign of Diocletian and Maximian was ended: Sebastian had endured his second martyrdom, and the last sigh of Timothy and Maura had ascended to God from their crucified bodies. A new era had commenced: Satan had stayed the persecutions which had proved so ineffectual, and was now trying for better success by means of flattery and corruption, and by tempting the Church to accept worldly power.

For this change he had been long preparing through the agency of the false teachers—those tares which he had stealthily sown among the wheat in the times of trouble, when hypocrisy was little suspected. By their influence Nicolaitanism had become an almost universal rule; so that the Churches were being governed, in much the same manner as earthly communities, by those whose intellectual power, or rank, or wealth, or intrigue, brought them to the front. And, as a natural consequence, many of these leaders were craving an extension of their influence, and manifesting a desire for worldly pre-eminence which soon caused a change in doctrine.

In the earliest times, believers were taught by the apostles to live in daily expectation of the Lord's return, and recognized no other way of permanent deliverance from the troubles of this world; but now ideas of a very different kind began to be ventilated. It was suggested that Christ could not return to a world so unprepared; that persecution would presently cease, and God might then be expected to give great power to His Church, and enable her to convert all men by her preaching. In this way the Millennium would be introduced without the need of any personal interference on the part of Christ. And since some Scriptural support was required for the new doctrine, it was obtained by affirming that the Jew had been cast off for ever, and then misapplying the prophecies of Israel's future glory to the body of nominal believers upon earth. Thus the disciples were induced to say with the slothful servant, "My Lord delayeth His coming"; and a spirit of worldliness continued to prevail in the Church until, when the fatal hour of prosperity arrived, she altogether ceased to wait for the Son from heaven, and proudly thought, "I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."

While these opinions were being disseminated, the great majority of Christians were manifesting a disposition to become conformed as much as possible in outward appearance to the world; and, as an example of the tendency, we may note that during this period various festivals were instituted at the times of the great Heathen festivals, because the Christians did not like to appear singular. And although they gave their own names to these holy-days, nevertheless, in order to attain their end, they were forced to imitate many of the Heathen customs. We will give one specimen of this kind of adaptation.¹

According to Mr. Greswell, who supports his proposition by very able reasoning, our Lord must have been born on the fifth of April. But whether this date be exactly correct or not, it is sufficiently evident

¹ Many would be disposed to say, "Why not suffer the curtain of oblivion to rest for ever upon these lamentable facts? Now, at least, the days are honestly kept as Christian festivals: is it well to disturb men's minds by tracing such observances back to their Pagan origin?" There is, alas! a very urgent reason for doing so. Already there are in circulation among the educated classes infidel books, of considerable ability, in which the Pagan robes of certain forms of Christianity are powerfully and convincingly exposed. And then, since much which they have been taught to deem sacred is demonstrated to have been brought to them from Heathen sources, Christians are invited to believe that all other doctrines and observances of their faith are also of a similar character. It seems, therefore, absolutely necessary that we should henceforth accustom ourselves to discriminate between those things which, being ordinances of men, are justified only by their value in the war against the world and Satan, and those which, being direct commands of the Lord and His apostles, must be firmly retained in spite of all opposition and of every actual or possible consequence.

that the twenty-fifth of December could not have been the day. For shepherds would not have been "abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night," at that cold season of the year, since they are not accustomed to do so later than October. Besides which, our Lord's mother would scarcely have been able, just before the birth of her Son, to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in the very depth of winter. "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter," is His own injunction in the sermon on the Mount of Olives.

How is it, then, that the festival of Christ's birth is always kept on the twenty-fifth of December? To understand the mystery we must glance at a passage of Tertullian, in which he remonstrates with Christians of the end of the second, or beginning of the third, century as follows.

"But if we have no right of fellowship in such matters—that is, in Heathen festivals—with aliens, how much more sinful is it for brethren to assort together therein! Who can endure or maintain this? The Holy Spirit reproacheth the Jews for their feast days. 'Your Sabbaths,' saith He, 'and your new moons, and your ordinances, My soul hateth.' And do we, to whom these Sabbaths belong not, nor the new moons, nor the feast days once beloved of God, celebrate the feast of Saturn, and of January, and of the Winter Solstice, and the feast of Matrons? For us shall presents flow in; new year's gifts jingle; sports and banquets roar? O truer fidelity of the nations to their own religion, which claims for itself no solemnity of the Christians! No Lord's day, no Pentecost, even if they had known them, would they have shared with us! For they would be afraid lest they should be thought Christians: we are not afraid lest we should seem to be Heathen!"$^{1}$

This passage exposes, generally, the origin of many of the so-called Church festivals, which were unknown to earlier times, and were adapted from Paganism because the Christians had grown cowardly, and were no longer willing to bear testimony to Christ by entire separation from the world. They would not remain on the top of the hill, where they could not be hid,$^{2}$ and so came half-way down towards the valley.

Now—to leave generalities and return to the subject of Christmas—the twenty-first of December is the shortest day of the year, the time when the sun has reached his lowest point; and it is not until the twenty-fifth that he begins to lengthen the duration of his light. Hence, throughout the whole Heathen world, the twenty-fifth was regarded as the birthday of the Sun-god, and a high festival, which was celebrated at Rome by the "Great Games" of the Circus. And, for obvious reasons, the Christians determined to commemorate the birth of Christ at the same time.

In his thirty-first homily, Chrysostom, after quoting the directions from the Pagan Calendar, remarks;—"On this day, also, the birthday of Christ *was lately fixed at Rome*, in order that, while the Heathen were busied with their profane ceremonies, the Christians might perform their holy rites undisturbed." He seems, however, to be conscious that the proceeding required some further apology, besides the excuse

$^{1}$ Tertull. De Idol. xiv.

$^{2}$ Matt. v. 14.

contained in the latter part of his sentence, and presently adds;—“But they—that is, the Pagans—call this day the birthday of the Invincible One:¹ who, then, so invincible as the Lord that overthrew and vanquished death? Or because they style it the birthday of the Sun? He is the Sun of righteousness.” This is a species of argument which has contributed much to the corruption of Christianity. What confusion of thought was produced by it in the particular matter before us, we may, perhaps, discover by a Christmas sermon of Leo the Great, who flourished about the middle of the fifth century. In it the prelate blames certain Christians for causing offence to their weaker brethren by reverencing the festival, not so much on account of Christ’s birth, as on that of the “Rising of the new Sun.”²

This instance will suffice to show in what manner the Christians were gradually induced to make compromises, until at last they fell, almost without suspicion, into the snare which Satan had prepared. For the process of blending Christianity and Paganism was carried on until a compound religion had been manufactured, of which we may say, generally, that Christianity furnished the nomenclature, and Paganism the doctrines and rites. The other great festivals of the “Catholic Church” will be found, like Christmas, to depend upon celestial phenomena, and this was detected by Sir Isaac Newton, who suggested that they were determined upon an astronomical basis. They were, in fact, arranged by the astrologers of Babylon for the worship of the host of heaven, and

¹ A common appellation of the Sun-god.

² Serm. II. See King’s “Gnostics,” pp. 49, 50.

having been received by the Romans, as we have already explained, were afterwards passed on to the nominal Church, as soon as she had been sufficiently corrupted to accept them.

Such, then, was the condition of things when the last persecution commenced. Constantine, who, after the death of his father Constantius, became emperor of the district to the west of the Alps, did not sanction the cruel treatment of the Church: for his own countries of Britain and Gaul were filled with professing Christians, and his legions were recruited from them. Consequently, when he had overpowered his colleagues in the Empire and gained the whole for himself, he showed especial favour to the followers of Christ. Such a patronage caused large numbers of insincere persons to join the Church: the real Christians were swamped, and the pastors and bishops were elected by nominal believers. But Constantine found that this mixed multitude was divided by the Arian controversy; and, regarding the Church merely as a political instrument, he saw the necessity of healing the breach, and determined upon summoning a council of bishops to discuss the question at issue, and decide it by their votes. The bishops assembled at Nicæa, or Nice, in Bithynia, and the orthodox party triumphed; not, however, without purchasing votes by dangerous concessions, one of which is said to have introduced into the Church the worship of Isis under the name of the Virgin Mary. But the proceedings were finally unsuccessful, and though Arius was banished at the time, the emperor quickly recalled him.

Of Constantine's real opinions, of his attempts to blend Christianity and Paganism from motives of policy, and of his moral behaviour, we have spoken in the remarks on the Parable of the Mustard Tree. He wished to make the Church the handmaid of the State, and the Christians had been so prepared by the craft of Satan, and had among them so many merely nominal believers, that they seemed only too willing to run greedily after the error of Balaam for reward.

And so a new community began to spread over the Roman earth, professing to be Christian, but denying one precept at least of its supposed Founder, in that it openly acknowledged two masters: for, while claiming to receive its authority from the Lord of heaven, it was willing, whenever its interests could be served, to wield that authority according to the bidding of the emperors of Rome. Everywhere it indicated its presence by the rise of stately edifices, by gorgeous rites and ceremonies, and by an adoration of heroes and martyrs somewhat difficult to distinguish from the Polytheism which it was understood to have supplanted.

The Balaamites who brought about this change have never yet been cast out of the visible Church, and are still found, in some form or other, professing heavenly, but minding earthly things: for the Lord has not yet come to fight against them with the sword of His mouth. But when the measure of their iniquity is full, He will appear to their dismay, and in answer to their frantic appeal, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name?" will sternly reply, "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."

In the promise to him that overcometh, there is again a reference to the times in which Balaam lived.

The idea of the hidden manna is not taken from that which formed the daily food of the Israelites, and which became corrupt unless it was immediately eaten; but from the pot of incorruptible manna, which, having been laid up for the generations of Israel, was enclosed within the Ark, and never seen. It represents, perhaps, the nourishment of the resurrection body, laid up in store for those who, during their sojourn here, abstain from things offered to idols, and who refuse to change the ways of God in order, to please the world, and obtain its good things. If we can turn from the dainties with which the god of this age tempts us, we shall eat angels' food, and sit down to the marriage supper of the Lamb. The great High Priest after the order of Melchizedec will meet us as we return from our warfare with the kings of this world, and will bless us, and bring forth bread and wine, the royal dainties which He reserves for them that love Him.

The promise of the white stone seems to belong specially to those who keep themselves from spiritual fornication, from sinful communion with this world. There has been much dispute in regard to the metaphor; but we may at once dismiss those explanations which are founded upon Classical allusions as altogether irrelevant.

The word translated "white" is often used of a bright and dazzling whiteness, as, for instance, that of a sunbeam: hence the white stone may be a glittering gem; perhaps, a diamond. Now the mysterious implement by which the High Priest was enabled to obtain an answer from the Lord, and which was called the Urim and Thummim, or "Lights and Perfections," was probably a diamond; and it is likely that the

THYATIRA.

name of the Lord was inscribed upon it. The breast-plate of the High Priest formed a sort of pouch into which it was placed; but, precious as the case was, that which was enclosed would reasonably be even more so. Hence, the Urim may have been a diamond, most costly of gems. The Lord will, therefore, give to him that overcometh a glittering stone inscribed with His own name, like that which the High Priest bore in the breastplate of judgment; so that the possessor will be enabled to know His will at all times, will have the privilege of continual communion with Him. So glorious a recompense is there for him who can renounce the fleeting and insincere friendship of this world, and who, turning from the luring phantoms that beckon to him, sets his face as a flint to follow by the way which the Master trod, and to watch with Him during the one short hour of life.

XVI.