WHO IS JESUS?

What is The Alpha Course?

Alpha is for anyone interested in exploring questions of life and spirituality.

We spend 8 evenings considering some of the big questions in life including:
“What can I really believe?” ”Does prayer work?” “Who is Jesus?” and “Is there a God?”

“Let thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

John Francis

Back to the Bible daily 20th October

Mark 3:35 ......For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

How important is it to you to be in the will of God?

A few years ago when saying the disciples prayer, (also known as the Lord's prayer,) the words

“Let thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” 

spoke to me and I realized the importance of these words for the first time. 
Here in our text our Master Lord Jesus says He will acknowledge as family those who will do the will of God. 
Can you see the importance now?

What is the will of God? The Bible is full of instructions of what God considers to be good and bad behavior.

Prayer: Thank you our God for showing us the importance of your will being done. Grant through the guidance of the Holy Ghost we will change and conform our lives that your will be done, your kingdom come. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God Dwelling with the Humble and Contrite

God Dwelling with the Humble and Contrite

For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  (Isa_57:15)
God delights in pouring out His grace into humble hearts. "God . . . gives grace to the humble" (Jam_4:6). What a remarkable arrangement this involves. The God who dwells on high in heaven above wants to also dwell with the humble here on earth below.  
Our great God, the true and living God, is high and lofty. 
"For thus says the High and Lofty One." He is exalted. 
"For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods" (Psa_97:9). 
He rules far above, and completely over, every valid authority and every false god. Also, eternity is His rightful habitation: "who inhabits eternity." Furthermore, holiness is His essential character: "whose name is Holy." 
Among all professed powers or spiritual usurpers, none is like our holy Lord. "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exo_15:11).  
In light of His holy and eternal character, it follows that He would make this proclamation: "I dwell in the high and holy place." 
Beyond the atmospheric heavens, beyond the stellar heavens, the Lord dwells in the heaven of heavens. In this spiritual dimension beyond time and space, the fullness of the Lord's presence is known. Yet, He is even greater than this 
"third heaven" itself. "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool . . . Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You" (Isa_66:1 and 1Ki_8:27).  
The Lord is high, lofty, holy, and eternal. These truths impact us with awe and reverence. Yet, there is a corollary truth that brings us encouragement and hope (even though it seems almost contradictory). "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit." 
God essentially dwells on high, but He also desires to dwell with man here below. Who is the person that experiences the Lord dwelling with them? Such communion with God is for the contrite and humble. The Lord wants to make Himself known in repentant and meek hearts in order to bring them spiritual revitalization: 
"to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

O Lord God, I worship You as high, lofty, holy, and eternal. I exalt You as above all and ruling over all. Yet, I praise You for desiring to dwell with me here on earth below. I humble myself before You, confessing my need for spiritual revitalization, in Jesus name, Amen.

The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon

“The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.”
- Jdg_7:20
Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is Gideon’s watchword, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” God must do it, it is his own work. But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used-”The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” If we only cry, “The sword of the Lord!” we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we shout, “The sword of Gideon!” alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in practical harmony, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!” We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the help of our God; let us, therefore, in his name determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony, and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign for ever and ever.
Sid Roth - It's Supernatural

In the evening withhold not thy hand

“In the evening withhold not thy hand.”
- Ecc_11:6
In the evening of the day opportunities are plentiful: men return from their labour, and the zealous soul-winner finds time to tell abroad the love of Jesus. Have I no evening work for Jesus? If I have not, let me no longer withhold my hand from a service which requires abundant labour. 
Sinners are perishing for lack of knowledge; he who loiters may find his skirts crimson with the blood of souls. Jesus gave both his hands to the nails, how can I keep back one of mine from his blessed work? Night and day he toiled and prayed for me, how can I give a single hour to the pampering of my flesh with luxurious ease? Up, idle heart; stretch out thy hand to work, or uplift it to pray; heaven and hell are in earnest, let me be so, and this evening sow good seed for the Lord my God.
The evening of life has also its calls. Life is so short that a morning of manhood’s vigour, and an evening of decay, make the whole of it. To some it seems long, but a four-pence is a great sum of money to a poor man. Life is so brief that no man can afford to lose a day. It has been well said that if a great king should bring us a great heap of gold, and bid us take as much as we could count in a day, we should make a long day of it; we should begin early in the morning, and in the evening we should not withhold our hand; but to win souls is far nobler work, how is it that we so soon withdraw from it? Some are spared to a long evening of green old age; if such be my case, let me use such talents as I still retain, and to the last hour serve my blessed and faithful Lord. By his grace I will die in harness, and lay down my charge only when I lay down my body. 
Age may instruct the young, cheer the faint, and encourage the desponding; if eventide has less of vigorous heat, it should have more of calm wisdom, therefore in the evening I will not withhold my hand.

DO THE WORK OF THE KINGDOM

The Disciples were called to an active participation in doing the ministry of Jesus in the Kingdom here on earth.
Jesus did the works of His Father.  
Have we missed the works of the Kingdom as we study and believe the written word of God.   I believe we need to start obeying the word of God in practically carrying it out on our watch.   Faith without works is dead.  It's not enough to read it meditate and study only and not obey it and demonstrating this truth practically.   
It's not enough to just go to Church only, we have to learn to take the Church to the people. 


John 14:12  I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father. 

John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believes on me,.... Having mentioned his miracles as proofs of His deity, He assures His disciples, in order to comfort them under the loss of his bodily presence, that they should do the same, and greater works; for we are not to understand these words of everyone that believes in Christ, of every private believer in him, but only of the apostles, and each of them, that were true believers in him: to whom he says, 

the works that I do shall he do also; he shall raise the dead, heal all manner of diseases, and cast out devils; things which Christ gave his apostles power to do, when he first gave them a commission to preach the Gospel, and when he renewed and enlarged it: and which they did perform, not in their own name, and by their own power, but in the name, and by the power of Christ: 

and greater works than these shall he do; meaning, not greater in nature and kind, but more in number; for the apostles, in a long series of time, and course of years, went about preaching the Gospel, not in Judea only, but in all the world; "God also bearing them witness with signs and wonders, and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost", Heb_2:4, wherever they went: though perhaps by these greater works may be meant the many instances of conversion, which the apostles were instrumental in, and which were more in number than those which were under our Lord's personal ministry: besides, the conversion of a sinner is a greater work than any of the miracles of raising the dead, &c. for this includes in it all miracles: here we may see a sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, quickened; one born blind made to see; one who was deaf to the threatening's of the law, and to the charming voice of the Gospel, made to hear, so as to live; and one that had the spreading leprosy of sin all over him, cleansed from it by the blood of the Lamb yea, though a miracle in nature is an instance and proof of divine power, yet the conversion of a sinner, which is a miracle in grace, is not only an instance of the power of God, and of the greatness of it, but of the exceeding greatness of it: and the rather one may be induced to give in to this sense of the passage, since it is added, as a reason, 


because I go to my Father; and upon my ascension the Spirit will be given, to you, which shall not only enable you to perform miracles, as proofs of your apostleship, and the doctrine you preach, but which shall powerfully attend the Gospel to the conversion of multitudes of souls.

John 14:1-31

The Lord now begins to discourse with them in view of His departure. He was going where they could not come. To human sight they would be left alone upon the earth. It is to the sense of this apparently desolate condition that the Lord addresses Himself, shewing them that He was an object for faith, even as God was. In doing this, He opens to them the whole truth with respect to their condition. His work is not the subject treated of, but their position by virtue of that work. His Person should have been for them the key to that position, and would be so now: the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, who should come, would be the power by which they should enjoy it, and indeed more yet.

To Peter's question, "Whither goest thou?" the Lord replies. Only when the desire of the flesh seeks to enter into the path on which Jesus was then entering, the Lord could but say that the strength of the flesh was unavailing there; for, in fact, he proposed to follow Christ in death. Poor Peter!

But when the Lord has written the sentence of death upon the flesh for us, by revealing its impotency, He can then (chapter 14) reveal that which is beyond it for faith; and that which belongs to us through His death throws its light back, and teaches who He was, even when on earth, and always, before the world was. He did but return to the place from which He came. But He begins with His disciples where they were, and meets the need of their hearts by explaining to them in what manner — better, in a certain sense, than by following Him here below — they should be with Him when absent where He would be. They did not see God corporeally present with them: to enjoy His presence they believed in Him; It was to be the same thing with regard to Jesus. They were to believe in Him. He did not forsake them in going away, as though there were only room for Himself in His Father's house. (He alludes to the temple as a figure.) There was room for them all. The going thither, observe, was still His thought — He is not here as the Messiah. We see Him in the relationships in which He stood according to the eternal truths of God. He had always His departure in view: had there been no room for them, He would have told them so. Their place was with Him. But He was going to prepare a place for them. Without presenting redemption there, and presenting Himself as the new man according to the power of that redemption, there was no place prepared in heaven. He enters it in the power of that life which should bring them in also. But they should not go alone to rejoin Him, nor would He rejoin them down here. Heaven, not earth, was in question. Nor would He simply send others for them; but as those He dearly valued, He would come for them Himself, and receive them unto Himself, that where He was, there should they be also. He would come from the Father's throne: there, of course, they cannot sit; but He will receive them there, where He shall be in glory before the Father. They should be with Him — a far more excellent position than His remaining with them here below, even as Messiah in glory on the earth.

Now, also, having said where He was going, that is, to His Father (and speaking according to the effect of His death for them), He tells them that they knew whither He was going, and the way. For He was going to the Father, and they had seen the Father in seeing Him; and thus, having seen the Father in Him, they knew the way; for in coming to Him, they came to the Father, who was in Him as He was in the Father. He was, then, Himself the way. Therefore He reproaches Philip with not having known Him. He had been long with them, as the revelation in His own Person of the Father; and they ought to have known Him, and to have seen that He was in the Father, and the Father in Him, and thus have known where He was going, for it was to the Father. He had declared the name of the Father; and if they were unable to see the Father in Him, or to be convinced of it by His words, they ought to have known it by His works; for the Father who dwelt in Him — He it was who did the works. This depended on His own Person, being still in the world; but a striking proof was connected with His departure. After He was gone, they would do even greater works than He did, because they should act in connection with His greater nearness to the Father. This was requisite to His glory. It was even unlimited. He placed them in immediate connection with the Father by the power of His work and of His name; and whatsoever they should ask the Father in His name, Christ Himself would do it for them. Their request should be heard and granted by the Father — shewing what nearness He had acquired for them; and He (Christ) would do all they should ask. For the power of the Son was not, and could not be, wanting to the Father's will: there was no limit to His power.

But this led to another subject. If they loved Him, it was to be shewn, not in regrets, but in keeping His commandments. They were to walk in obedience. This characterises discipleship up to the present time. Love desires to be with Him, but shews itself by obeying His commands; for Christ also has a right to command. On the other hand He would seek their good on high, and another blessing should be granted them; namely, the Holy Ghost Himself, who should never leave them, as Christ was about to do. The world could not receive Him. Christ, the Son, had been shewn to the eyes of the world, and ought to have been received by it. The Holy Ghost would act, being invisible; for by the rejection of Christ, it was all over with the world in its natural and creature relationships with God. But the Holy Ghost should be known by the disciples; for He should not only remain with them, as Christ could not, but be in them, not with them as He was. The Holy Ghost would not be seen then or known by the world.

Until now, in His discourse, He had led His disciples to follow Him (in spirit) on high, through the knowledge which acquaintance with His Person (in which the Father was revealed) gave them of whither He was going, and of the way. He was Himself the way, as we have seen. He was the truth itself, in the revelation (and the perfect revelation) of God and of the soul's relationship to Him; and, indeed, of the real condition and character of all things, by bringing out the perfect light of God in His own Person who revealed Him. He was the life, in which God and the truth could thus be known. Men came by Him; they found the Father revealed in Him; and they possessed in Him that which enabled them to enjoy, and in the reception of which they came in fact to, the Father.

But, now, it is not what is objective which He presents; not the Father in Him (which they ought to have known) and He in the Father, when here below. He does not, therefore, raise their thoughts to the Father through Himself and in Himself, and He in the Father in heaven. He sets before them that which should be given them down here — the stream of blessing that should flow for them in this world, by virtue of that which Jesus was, and was for them, in heaven. The Holy Ghost once introduced as sent, the Lord says, "I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." His presence, in spirit, here below, is the consolation of His people. They should see Him; and this is much more true than seeing Him with the eyes of flesh. Yes, more true; it is knowing Him in a much more real way, even though by grace they had believed in Him as the Christ, the Son of God. And, moreover, this spiritual sight of Christ by the heart, through the presence of the Holy Ghost, is connected with life. "Because I live, ye shall live also." We see Him, because we have life, and this life is in Him, and He in this life. "This life is in the Son." It is as sure as His duration. It is derived from Him. Because He lives, we shall live. Our life is, in everything, the manifestation of Himself who is our life. Even as the apostle expresses it, "That the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal bodies." Alas! the flesh resists; but this is our life in Christ.

But this is not all. The Holy Ghost dwelling in us, we know that we are in Christ. [52] "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." It is not "the Father in me [which, however, was always true] , and I in him" — words, the first of which, here omitted, expressed the reality of His manifestation of the Father here on earth. The Lord only expresses that which belongs to His being really and divinely one with the Father — "I am in my Father." It is this last part of the truth (implied, doubtless, in the other when rightly understood) of which the Lord here speaks. It could not really be so; but men might imagine such a thing as a manifestation of God in a man, without this man being really such — so truly God, that is to say, in Himself — that it must also be said, He is in the Father. People dream of such things; they speak of the manifestation of God in flesh. We speak of God manifest in the flesh. But here all ambiguity is obviated — He was in the Father, and it is this part of the truth which is repeated here; adding to it, in virtue of the presence of the Holy Ghost, that while the disciples should indeed fully know the divine Person of Jesus, they should moreover know that they were themselves in Him. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Jesus did not say that they ought to have known this while He was with them on earth. They ought to have known that the Father was in Him and He in the Father. But in that He was alone. The disciples, however, having received the Holy Ghost, should know their own being in Him — a union of which the Holy Ghost is the strength and the bond. The life of Christ flows from Him in us. He is in the Father, we in Him, and He also in us, according to the power of the presence of the Holy Ghost.

Partakers of the divine nature

"Partakers of the divine nature."
2 Peter 1:4

To be a partaker of the divine nature is not, of course, to become God. That cannot be. The essence of Deity is not to be participated in by the creature. Between the creature and the Creator there must ever be a gulf fixed in respect of essence; but as the first man Adam was made in the image of God, so we, by the renewal of the Holy Spirit, are in a yet diviner sense made in the image of the Most High, and are partakers of the divine nature. We are, by grace, made like God. "God is love"; we become love--

"He that loveth is born of God." God is truth; we become true, and we love that which is true: God is good, and he makes us good by his grace, so that we become the pure in heart who shall see God. Moreover, we become partakers of the divine nature in even a higher sense than this--in fact, in as lofty a sense as can be conceived, short of our being absolutely divine. 

Do we not become members of the body of the divine person of Christ? Yes, the same blood which flows in the head flows in the hand: and the same life which quickens Christ quickens his people, for 

"Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

 Nay, as if this were not enough, we are married unto Christ. He hath betrothed us unto himself in righteousness and in faithfulness, and he who is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Oh! marvellous mystery! we look into it, but who shall understand it? One with Jesus--so one with him that the branch is not more one with the vine than we are a part of the Lord, our Saviour, and our Redeemer! While we rejoice in this, let us remember that those who are made partakers of the divine nature will manifest their high and holy relationship in their intercourse with others, and make it evident by their daily walk and conversation that they have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. O for more divine holiness of life!

bind the strong man,

Matthew 12:29  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. 



Or else, how can anyone enter into a strong man's house,.... This is another argument of Christ's proving that his casting out of devils could not be by Satan, but by the Spirit of God; for if he did not act by any superior power to Satan's, and such by which he was able to master, overcome, and bind him, he could never spoil his goods, as he did; or dispossess devils out of the bodies or souls of men: just as if a man should enter into another man's house, who is strong and robust, with a design to spoil his goods, who would never make use of the man himself to do it, and can never be thought to effect it, unless he has a power superior to his, and uses it; 

except he first bind the strong man, and then he will spoil his house: by the "strong man", is meant the devil, see Isa_49:24 who is powerful and mighty, as appears from his nature, being an angel, though a fallen one, excelling in strength human creatures; from his names, such as the roaring lion, the great red dragon, leviathan, &c. from the extent of his dominion, here called "his house"; which reaches to the whole posse of devils, and world of men; whence he is called the prince of the power of the air, and the prince of this world, and the god of it; and from his works and actions, in and over the bodies and estates of men, by divine permission; which might be exemplified in the case of Job, and the demoniacs in the time of Christ; and in and over the souls of men, not only over wicked men, but men under a show of religion, as antichrist and his followers; yea, saints themselves, and even over Adam in a state of innocence; but Christ is stronger than he, and attacked him, and dispossessed him of the bodies of men; and restraining him from doing them any hurt, enters into the souls of men, dethrone him, and leads him captive, who led others; and keeps him from doing them any damage; as he will in the latter day "bind" him and shut him up in prison a thousand years; and also "spoils his goods", or "vessels", and "his house"; the palace of Satan, by taking bodies and souls out of his possession; by awakening the conscience, enlightening the mind, working upon the affections, subduing the will, and implanting principles of grace and holiness in the heart; and so making it a fit habitation for God, which spoils it for the devil: in all which, Satan can never be thought to have any hand; and therefore the suggestion that Christ casts out devils by his assistance, even out of the bodies of men, has no show of reason in it.

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,

Eph 6:12  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 
Eph 6:13  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 
Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 
Eph 6:15  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 
Eph 6:16  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 
Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 
Eph 6:18  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—
Eph 6:19  and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 

Coby Puckett 

Thank you Jesus!! 

whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Mat 18:18  "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 
Mat 18:19  "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 
Mat 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." 

Matthew 18:18

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee.
How to meet offences
Observe the method Christ has laid down-
I. The trespass supposed, whether accidental or designed. Whether it regards reputation, or property, or feelings, etc. Then, the direction given-
II. Seek a private interview. That he may explain, if possible. Better adapted for him to confess. More faithfully and affectionately admonished.
III. If this fail, take one or two more. Let them be unobjectionable, peaceable, prudent persons. These are to witness and aid by their counsel and influence. If this fail-
IV. Bring it to the church. Do so for these reasons:
1. For the offender’s sake. He may hear the Church.
2. For Christianity’s sake.
3. For the world’s sake, that they may see we are neither indifferent or malevolent. If he refuse to hear the Church, then he must-
V. Be removed from christian communion. This is the last act, and if this is rightly done, it is ratified in heaven (Mat_18:18). Do not let us neglect this order. You object “He is not worthy of all this,” etc.; “ This is troublesome,” etc. But it is your duty; Christ demands it. (J. Burns, LL. D.)


Tell the offender his fault
A person came one day to see Mr. Longdon, of Sheffield, and said, “I have something against you, and I am come to tell you of it.” “Do walk in, sir,” he replied; “you are my best friend. If I could but engage my friends to be faithful with me, I shall be sure to prosper. But, if you please, we will both pray in the first place, and ask the blessing of God upon our interview.” After they rose from their knees, and had been much blessed together, he said, “Now I will thank you, my brother, to tell me what it is you have against me.” “Oh,” said the man, “I really don’t know what it is; it is all gone, and I believe I was in the wrong!” (Anon.)


Private reproof
A reprover is like one that is taking a mote out of his brother’s eye-now this must be done very tenderly. For this purpose it would be convenient, where it may be, that reproofs be given privately. “If thy brother offend thee, tell him his fault between him and thee.” The presence of many make him take up an unjust defence, who in private would have taken upon him a just shame. The open air makes sores to rankle-other’s crimes are not to be cried at the market. Private reproof is the best grave to bury private faults in. (Swinneck.)


Brotherly reproof
I. Whom are we to reprove? Our brother. This term, in general, comprehends all mankind.
II. For what are we to reprove our brother? It is for trespassing against us.
III. How we are to reprove.
1. Be sure that the person whom you are about to reprove is really guilty of the sin.
2. See that the sin, which you are about to reprove, be that heinous sin which you have taken it to be. We are not for every trifle to fly in the face of our brother, and to hale him before our tribunal.
3. When you are about to reprove a brother, you should consider whether there is any probability of your doing him any good by your reproofs. If the goldsmith were persuaded that his toil and sweat at the refining pot would answer no good but to injure his health, and perhaps to shorten his days, he would sooner break his utensils in pieces, and burst his bellows apart than engage in such unprofitable and unhealthy employment. Equally fruitless ii is to reprove some men. To reprove successfully requires no small degree of dexterity and penetration. It must be the combined work of a cool head, and a gracious compassionate heart.
4. When you are about to reprove a brother, go to him yourselves. Do not wait until he comes of his own accord to you.
5. He who would reprove with success, should be as unblemished as possible in his own conduct.
IV. For what end we are to reprove him. Not to please ourselves, or to gratify our private resentments-not to triumph over his infirmities or to display our superiority to him; not to insult him, or to make ourselves merry with his faults; but that we may win him over from the camp of the aliens, and restore him to his rightful owner. (Daniel Rowland.)


The necessity of ecclesiastical discipline
I. The gospel cannot be preserved without salt; nor-
II. Fraternal love without frankness; nor-
III. A particular Church without discipline; nor-
IV. The Church in general without a spirit of discipline. (J. P. Lange.)


Correction of fault a duty
He who sees his brother commit a sin and keeps silence, is equally in fault with him who does not forgive him who repents. The very elements teach us the benefit of this correction. For so fire chastises, and by burning purifies the air. The air by the blasts of winds chastises and purifies the water. In like manner, so does the water the earth. There can be no Christian charity in any one unless he afford the medicine of correction to an erring brother. (Anon.)


Private admonition best
It is true open sinners deserve open censures; but private admonitions will best suit private offences. While we seek to heal a wound in our brother’s actions, we should be careful not to leave a scar upon his person. We give grains of allowance in all current coin. That is a choice friend who conceals our faults from the view of others, and yet discovers them to our own. That medicine which rouses the evil burnouts of the body, and does not carry them off, only leaves it in a worse condition than it found it. (Archbishop Secker.)


Do not parade other people’s faults
They are fittest to find fault in whom there is no fault to be found. There is no removing blots from the paper by laying upon them a blurred finger. What do you get by throwing stones at your enemy’s windows while your own children look out at the casements? He that blows into a heap of dust is in danger of putting out his own eyes. (Archbishop Secker.)


Test of friendship
It is one of the severest tests of friendship to tell your friend of his faults. If you are angry with a man, or hate him, it is not hard to go to him and stab him with words; but so to love a man that you cannot bear to see the stain of sin upon him, and to speak painful truth through loving words-that is friendship. But few have such friends. Our enemies usually teach us what we are at the point of the sword. (H. W. Beecher.)

Charles Spurgeon's Corner

"Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge, etc."
2 Peter 1:5-6

If thou wouldest enjoy the eminent grace of the full assurance of faith, under the blessed Spirit's influence, and assistance, do what the Scripture tells thee, "Give diligence." Take care that thy faith is of the right kind--that it is not a mere belief of doctrine, but a simple faith, depending on Christ, and on Christ alone. Give diligent heed to thy courage. Plead with God that he would give thee the face of a lion, that thou mayest, with a consciousness of right, go on boldly. Study well the Scriptures, and get knowledge; for a knowledge of doctrine will tend very much to confirm faith. Try to understand God's Word; let it dwell in thy heart richly.

When thou hast done this, "Add to thy knowledge temperance." Take heed to thy body: be temperate without. Take heed to thy soul: be temperate within. Get temperance of lip, life, heart, and thought. Add to this, by God's Holy Spirit, patience; ask him to give thee that patience which endureth affliction, which, when it is tried, shall come forth as gold. Array yourself with patience, that you may not murmur nor be depressed in your afflictions. When that grace is won look to godliness. Godliness is something more than religion. Make God's glory your object in life; live in his sight; dwell close to him; seek for fellowship with him; and thou hast "godliness"; and to that add brotherly love. Have a love to all the saints: and add to that a charity, which openeth its arms to all men, and loves their souls. When you are adorned with these jewels, and just in proportion as you practise these heavenly virtues, will you come to know by clearest evidence "your calling and election." "Give diligence," if you would get assurance, for lukewarmness and doubting very naturally go hand in hand.

"That he may set him with princes."
Psalm 113:8

Our spiritual privileges are of the highest order. "Among princes" is the place of select society. "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." Speak of select society, there is none like this! "We are a chosen generation, a peculiar people, a royal priesthood." "We are come unto the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven." The saints have courtly audience: princes have admittance to royalty when common people must stand afar off. The child of God has free access to the inner courts of heaven. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." "Let us come boldly," says the apostle, "to the throne of the heavenly grace." Among princes there is abundant wealth, but what is the abundance of princes compared with the riches of believers? for "all things are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Princes have peculiar power. A prince of heaven's empire has great influence: he wields a sceptre in his own domain; he sits upon Jesus' throne, for "He hath made us kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign forever and ever." We reign over the united kingdom of time and eternity. Princes, again, have special honour. We may look down upon all earth-born dignity from the eminence upon which grace has placed us. For what is human grandeur to this, "He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus"? We share the honour of Christ, and compared with this, earthly splendours are not worth a thought. Communion with Jesus is a richer gem than ever glittered in imperial diadem. Union with the Lord is a coronet of beauty outshining all the blaze of imperial pomp.

And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"

Rev 4:8  The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!" 

Revelation 4:8

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about Him,.... As the seraphim in Isa_6:2 with two of which they might cover their faces as they did, testifying thereby their reverence of God, when in His presence; and with the other two cover their feet, signifying their sense of their sinfulness, weakness, and imperfection, in their conversation, even in their best works, and in the ministry of the word; and with the other two fly about, as denoting their readiness to minister the word and ordinances, to visit the members of the church, and do all good offices of love and service to them that lie in their power: 

and they were full of eyes within; to look into the sin and corruption of their own hearts, which is a means of keeping them humble amidst all their attainments, gifts, and graces, and of qualifying them to speak aptly of the cases of others; and they have eyes within, to look into and consult their own experience; for besides the word of God, which lies before them, they have a testimony in themselves of the truth of the doctrines of the Gospel, which they do well to attend unto; and they have these inward eyes to look into that treasure which God has put into their earthen vessels, in order to bring out of it things new and old. 

And they rest not day and night; they give up themselves to the ministry of the word, and prayer; are wholly in these things, meditate on the word continually, and preach the Gospel in season, and out of season: 

saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come; living under a continual sense of the holiness of God, Father, Son, and Spirit; and how necessary holiness is in themselves, who bear the vessels of the Lord, and in the churches and house of God; taking care that all their doctrines are according to godliness, and serve to promote holiness of life and conversation; and also under a sense of the power of God, and of their need of it, to carry them through their work, and make their ministry successful; and of the eternity and immutability of God, which is a wonderful support unto them amidst all the difficulties and troubles that attend them. 

The word "holy" is three times used here, as by the seraphim in Isa_6:3; and in some copies it is repeated six times, and in others nine times, as in the Complutensian edition.

A Throne Set in Heaven

Rev 4:2  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 

Revelation 4:1-11

“A Throne Set in Heaven” 

The vision of the ascended Lord introduced the seven letters to the churches, so the visions of this and the next chapters introduce the seven seals. They resemble the frontispiece or illuminated capitals of the old missals. There is no form for the Divine Being. 

God is Spirit, and His glory can only be hinted at by appropriate imagery. His being should excite emotions in our spirit similar to those which these objects excite in our mind. The jasper with its transparent brilliance, the sardine or cornelian with its fiery red, the emerald with its refreshing beauty, are laid under contribution to describe what cannot be described. 

The throne bespeaks majestic authority and power. 

The worship of the elders reflects that of Israel and the Church, Rev_21:12; Rev_21:14; the thunder, God’s awful holiness; the seven lamps, the searching, cleansing purity of His Spirit; the glassy sea, the mystery of His ways; the four living creatures, the homage of creation.

Here is the song of creation, Rev_4:11. Originally all things did the will of God, and if creation is now subject to vanity, some day it will be delivered into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, and God’s Will Shall Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven. 

Notice that the will of God brought all things into existence, and that that will guarantees their ultimate redemption.

By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

Titus 3:5

Not by works of righteousness which we have done - 
The plan was not based on our own good works, nor are our own good works now the cause of our salvation. 
If people could have been saved by their own good works, 
there would have been no need of salvation by the Redeemer; 
if our own deeds were now the basis of our title to eternal life, the work of Christ would be equally unnecessary. 
It is a great and fundamental principle of the gospel that the good works of men come in for no share in the justification of the soul. They are in no sense a consideration on account of which God pardons a man, and receives him to favor. 

The only basis of justification is the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the matter of justification before God, all the race is on a level; see the notes at Eph_2:8-9.

But according to His mercy - 
(1) It had its origin in mercy;
(2) It is by mere mercy or compassion, and not by justice;
(3) It is an expression of great mercy, and,
(4) It is now in fact conferred only by mercy.

Whatever we have done or can do, when we come to receive salvation from the hand of God, there is no other element which enters into it but mercy. 
It is not because our deeds deserve it; it is not because we have by repentance and faith wrought ourselves into such a state of mind that we can claim it; but, after all our tears, and sighs, and prayers, and good deeds, it is a mere favor. 
Even then God might justly withhold it if He chose, and no blame would be attached to Him if He should suffer us to sink down to ruin.
He saved us - That is, He began that salvation in us which is to be completed in heaven. A man who is already renewed and pardoned may be spoken of as saved - for:

(1) the work of salvation is begun, and,
(2) when begun it will certainly be completed; see the notes at 
Phi_1:6.
By the washing of regeneration - In order to a correct understanding of this important passage, it is necessary to ascertain whether the phrase here used refers to baptism, and whether anything different is intended by it from what is meant by the succeeding phrase - 
“renewing of the Holy Ghost.” 
- The word rendered “washing” (λουτρόυ  loutrou) occurs in the New Testament only in this place and in Eph_5:26, where also it is rendered “washing” - “That He might sanctify and cleanse it (the church) with the washing of water by the word.” The word properly means “a bath;” then water for bathing; then the act of bathing, washing, ablution. 
Passow and Robinson. 
It is used by Homer to denote a warm or cold bath; then a washing away, and is thus applied to the drink-offerings in sacrifice, which were supposed to purify or wash away sin. Passow. The word here does not mean “laver,” or the vessel for washing in, which would be expressed by λουτὴρ  loutēr and this word cannot be properly applied to the baptismal font.
The word in itself would naturally be understood as referring to baptism (compare notes at Act_22:16), which was regarded as the emblem of washing away sins, or of cleansing from them. I say it was the emblem, not the means of purifying the soul from sin. If this be the allusion, and it seems probable, then the phrase “washing of regeneration” would mean “that outward washing or baptism which is the emblem of regeneration,” and which is appointed as one of the ordinances connected with salvation; see the notes at Mar_16:16,
“He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” 
It is not affirmed in this phrase that baptism is the means of regeneration; or that grace is necessarily conveyed by it; and still less that baptism is regeneration, for no one of these is a necessary interpretation of the passage, and should not be assumed to be the true one. The full force of the language will be met by the supposition that it means that baptism is the emblem or symbol of regeneration, and, if this is the case, no one has a right to assume that the other is certainly the meaning.
And that this is the meaning is further clear, because it is nowhere taught in the New Testament that baptism is regeneration, or that it is the means of regeneration. 
The word rendered “regeneration” (παλιγγενεσία  palingenesia) - occurs in the New Testament only here and in Mat_19:28, - 
“in the regeneration when the Son of man,” etc. 
It means, properly, a new birth, reproduction, or renewal. It would properly be applied to one who should be begotten again in this sense, that a new life was commenced in him in some way corresponding to his being made to live at first. To the proper idea of the word, it is essential that there should be connected the notion of the commencement of life in the man, so that he may be said to live anew; and as religion is in the Scriptures represented as life, it is properly applied to the beginning of that kind of life by which man may be said to live anew. 

This word, occurring only here and in Mat_19:28, and there indubitably not referring to baptism, should not be here understood as referring to that, or be applied to that, because:
(1) that is not the proper meaning of the word;
(2) there is no Scripture usage to sanction it;
(3) the connection here does not demand it;
(4) the correlatives of the word (see John_3:3, John_3:5-6, John_3:8; 1Peter_1:3,) are applied only to that great moral change which is produced by the Holy Spirit, and,
(5) it is a dangerous use of the word.

Its use in this sense leaves the impression that the only change needful for man is that which is produced by being regularly baptized. On almost no point has so much injury been done in the church as by the application of the word “regeneration” to baptism. It affects the beginning of religion in the soul, and if a mistake is made there, it is one which must pervade all the views of piety.
And renewing of the Holy Ghost - This is an important clause, added by Paul apparently to save from the possibility of falling into error. If the former expression, “the washing of regeneration,” had been left to stand by itself, it might have been supposed possibly that all the regeneration which would be needed would be that which would accompany baptism. But he avoids the possibility of this error, by saying that the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” is an indispensable part of that by which we are saved. It is necessary that this should exist in addition to that which is the mere emblem of it - the washing of regeneration - for without this the former would be unmeaning and unavailing. It is important to observe that the apostle by no means says that this always follows from the former, nor does he affirm that it ever follows from it - whatever may be the truth on that point - but he asserts that this is that on which our salvation depends. - The word rendered “renewing” (ἀνακαίνωσις  anakainōsis) occurs only here and in Rom_12:2, where it is also rendered “renewing;” compare Note on that place. The verb (ἀνακαινόω  anakainoō) occurs in 2Co_4:15, and Col_3:19, in both which places it is rendered “renewed,” and the corresponding word, ἀνακαινίζω  anakainizō, in Heb_6:6.

The noun properly means making new again: a renewing; a renovation; compare H. Planck in Bib. Repos. i. 677. 
It is a word which is found only in the writings of Paul, and in ecclesiastical Greek writers. It would be properly applied to such a change as the Holy Spirit produces in the soul, making one a new man; that is, a man new, so far as religion is concerned - new in his views, feelings, desires, hopes, plans, and purposes. He is so far different from what he was before, that it may be said he enters on a new life; see the notes at Eph_4:23-24. 
The “renewing of the Holy Ghost” of course means that which the Holy Spirit produces, recognizing the fact, everywhere taught in the Scriptures, that the Holy Spirit is the Author of the new creation. 
It cannot mean, as Koppe supposes, the renewing of the mind itself, or producing a holy spirit in the soul.  Barnes

A door opened in heaven

Rev 4:1  Then I looked, and, oh!--a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, "Ascend and enter. I'll show you what happens next." 

Revelation 4:1-11

Behold, a door was opened in heaven.
The open door
I. The open door.
1. The place where the open door was seen: “In heaven.” This implies several important things.
(1) The changed sphere of operation.
(a) The “golden lampstands” represented Churches, not in heaven, but on earth.
(b) The “seven stars” represented the pastors of those Churches.
(c) Now the seer’s attention is called from the condition of things on earth to a condition of things in heaven. This is fruitful of suggestion.
(2) That the door is represented as “open” is noticeable.
(a) That now, for the first time, heaven is to be laid open to saints on earth.
(b) That now these heavenly things, as here revealed, should be prayerfully pondered: an open door, ever inviting entrance.
(3) Though this is a vision of the heavenly world, the objects seen are symbols; the things symbolized are as real as heaven itself is real.
II. The invitation: “Come up hither.”
1. The authoritative character of the invitation. The speaker is no less than the risen Lord.
2. The distinguished honour of the invitation.
3. The gracious purpose of the invitation.
(1) These “things” contain the substance of the Divine purposes concerning the destiny both of the people and the enemies of God.
(2) These purposes had never been disclosed till now.
(3) They are purposes in which all God’s people should take a lively interest.
III. The seer’s transformation.
1. Its suddenness.
2. Its significance.
IV. The sublime vision. Practical lessons:
1. The great importance of the study of the laws of “prophetic symbols.”
2. The symbols of this chapter are not only interesting as throwing light on the place this chapter occupies in the prophetic scheme of this book, but they are also full of practical value.
(1) They should impress us profoundly with the-awe-inspiring presentation of the majesty, sovereignty, and holiness of God, whose name we should revere.
(2) They should deeply impress us with the Divine activity, and the multiplicity of Divine agents in the bringing about the Divine purposes concerning the children of men.
(3) They should impress us with the faithfulness of God, and the sure reward of those who love and serve Him on earth. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)


A door opened in heaven
I. A door of intercourse between God and man. A door of intercourse was virtually opened in the covenant of grace, when the sacred persons of the Divine Trinity entered into solemn compact that the chosen should be redeemed, that an offering should be presented by which sin should be atoned for and God’s broken law should be vindicated. In that covenant council chamber where the sacred Three combined to plan the salvation, a door was virtually opened in heaven, and it was through that door that the saints who lived and died before the coming of Christ passed into their rest.
 But the door was actually and evidently opened when our Lord Jesus came down to the sons of men to sojourn in their flesh. There is no little comfort in the belief that heaven’s gates are opened, because then our prayers, broken-winged as they are, shall enter there. The ports of the glory-land are not blockaded; we have access by Jesus Christ unto the Father; and there is free trade with heaven for poor broken-heart'ed sinners.

II. A door of observation.
1. A door is opened in heaven whenever we are elevated by the help of God’s Spirit to high thoughts of the glory of God. Sometimes by investigating the works of nature we obtain a glimpse of the infinite. More often by beholding the grace and mercy revealed in Jesus Christ our hearts are warmed towards that blessed One who made us, who sustains us, who redeemed us, to whom we owe all things.
2. A door is opened in heaven whenever the meditative spirit is able to perceive Christ Jesus with some degree of clearness.
3. We sometimes get a door opened in heaven when we enjoy the work of the Holy Spirit in our souls.
4. A door is often opened in heaven in the joys of Christian worship. Yes, but if it be sweet to-day to mingle now with Christians in their praise and prayer, when we are so soon to separate and go our way, how passing sweet that place must be where the saints meet in eternal session of worship, the King ever with them, etc.
5. Another door is opened in heaven in the fellowship which we enjoy with the saints on earth.
6. A door has often been opened in heaven to us at the communion table. Astronomers select the best spots for observatories; they like elevated places which are free from traffic, so that their instruments may not quiver with the rumbling of wheels; they prefer also to be away from the smoke of manufacturing towns, that they may discern the orbs of heaven more clearly. Surely if any one place is fitter to be an observatory for a heaven-mind than another, it is the table of communion.
7. Another door that is opened in heaven is the delights of knowledge. The philosopher rejoices as he tracks some recondite law of nature to its source; but to hunt out a gospel truth, to track the real meaning of a text of Scripture, to get some fresh light upon one of the offices of the Redeemer, to see a precious type stand out with a fresh meaning, to get to know Him and the power of His resurrection experimentally; oh! this is happiness.
8. Another door of heaven may be found in the sweets of victory. I mean not the world’s victory, where there are garments rolled in blood, but I refer to victory over sin, self, and Satan.
III. A door of entrance. Christian, the message will soon come to thee, “The Master is come, and calls for thee.” Soon, I say, that door will open; surely you do not want to postpone the day. What is there amiss between you and your Husband that you wish to tarry away from Him? (C. H. Spurgeon.)


A door in heaven
I. The nearness of the heavenly world. We are at its “door.” Heaven is simply that which is heaved up. An uplifted life. We are always on the threshold of the pure, the noble, the blessed.
II. The possible revelation of heaven. It is not merely near and closed against us. It is near, and may be known. A door into it may be opened.
1. The Bible is such a door.
2. The death of good men is such a door.
3. The life of Christ is such a door.
4. Our own best experience is such a door. (D. Thomas, D. D.)


Heaven near, though hidden
This passage derives intense interest from its position as well as from its terms; for it occurs at the close of one group of scenes and at the beginning of another. My text, then, forms the transition between the earthly and the heavenly pictures. There is something striking, surely, in this sudden contrast, for the former chapters contain the most emphatic references to this present life of conflict and of sadness. They speak to those whose dwelling is “where Satan’s seat is”; they speak of their labour and their patience, their tribulation and their poverty. “Watch, repent, hold fast, overcome,” are the solemn, stirring words urged repeatedly on those addressed. How well we can understand their position, for it is our own I Instructed by the glorified Son of Man, the apostle saw and wrote those things. But “after this,” he says, “I looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven,” and through that open door he saw a sight how different. In place of the strife and tears and guilty stains which he saw before there was perfect splendour, sanctity, and bliss. He saw God’s throne with its rainbow emblem of mercy, etc. How complete the contrast between that world above and this world below, described before. I propose now to regard this transition passage as suggesting some relations between these two separated worlds.
I. The division between earth and heaven.
1. The fact that heaven and earth are divided by so wide a gulf seems to me cue of the strangest facts in our experience, though long habit prevents the strangeness from striking us so much. We should have expected the very opposite. Comparatively few cross the Atlantic to America, yet, though we may never see it, we require no act of faith to realize its existence and condition. But the world of heaven is so far removed beyond the range of our knowledge that we have need of faith to be convinced even that it exists. The material universe has been called the garment of God, and so far it reveals Him; but it hides Him too. Little can be said in explanation of our exclusion from all direct knowledge of the unseen world and God; but that little springs out of the very things which make it strange. If heaven were not invisible, if God sometimes appeared, the chief trial of our present life would be removed, and we should have perfect assurance instead of wavering faith. Our life, in fact, would cease to be the discipline which it is at present. His wisdom appoints that we walk by faith, not by sight; no wonder, then, that all the arrangements of our life are in keeping with this purpose. Moreover, to this separation of earth from heaven we may observe several analogies, e.g., as a thoughtful writer has pointed out, the material universe might have been one great plain allowing of the freest intercourse between its countless inhabitants, instead of which it is broken up into myriads of globes, divided from each other by abysses of space impassable to those who inhabit them. We are separated from the dwellers in Jupiter or Sirius (if such there are) as completely as we are separated from the dwellers in heaven. And note how the same policy is carried out even on earth. Two-thirds of the surface of our globe is water; vast oceans separate us from the inhabitants of America or Japan almost as entirely as if they lived on another planet. Nay, the majority of even English people are and will remain perfect strangers to us. Moreover, the periods of time contribute to this end as well as the expanse of space, for how entirely we are cut off from intercourse with those who lived in the past, and we are still more completely divided from future generations, and we come into contact with only a few of the people who are now living. Now these facts show that it is God’s will to break up His vast family into little groups, in order, perhaps, that each individual may, in comparative seclusion, be tried by the mystery of existence, instead of finding many of its problems solved by the combined experiences of all. All this is in keeping with the strange division between heaven and earth.
II. The connection between earth and heaven. One point of connection between the two, which at least helps to make heaven seem nearer to us, is that life in heaven, just as much as our life here, is proceeding now. We cannot see, indeed, that bright and holy world for which we yearn, as we should like to do, but there are those who do see it, who do enjoy it now. Their bliss is a present feeling arising from the presence of God now. Their endless life runs along a parallel course to our transient life. The present, which we call time, they call eternity. We cannot see them or hear of them, for there is a great division between earth and heaven, but there is a real connection, too, since those we love are present with the Lord, and are now receiving and returning the love of Christ, whom they “see as He is.” But there is a deeper lying connection between the two than this. We mourn over God’s absence from our earth, but what would earth be without Him? “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” And the angels from whom we are so divided, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?” So far from being independent of and forgotten by God, it is true rather that all we see and all we are was made and is upheld by God’s ever present power, and the ministrations of His angels. And if nature’s laws are God’s will, it may be said also that human history is the evolution of His providence. Individuals and nations, with all their wild and reckless freedom, do but accomplish what God’s hand and God’s counsel determined before to be done. We may trace this on the large scale when we note, in the Bible history, how God’s purposes have been wrought out by men, though we often cannot trace it in the narrow region of our own observations. But if God is present in the great, we may be sure He is present in the little, of which the great is made up. In history and in nature, too, we see effects, an endless tangled chain of them, but causes we do not see and cannot find out. Causes, forces, are beyond our reach, for there is a great division between earth and heaven. Ours is a God who hides Himself. But as we must believe that without these undiscovered forces the universe would cease to be, so we believe that all depends upon the unseen God. Earth and heaven, then, are divided by a gulf we cannot pass, but the connection between the two is nothing short of complete dependence.
III. The door is set open between earth and heaven. The division is maintained between the two in order that our discipline may not cease. But sometimes the door is opened that our faith may not fail. That has happened “at those sundry times and in divers manners when God spake unto the fathers by the prophets.” And in later days there was a still more wonderful exception. 

The door was opened wider, and, attended by a train of angels singing “glory in the highest,” the Son of God passed through, and dwelt among us, and men beheld His glory. And whenever a Christian pilgrim reaches his journey’s end, then, too, it may be said that the door between earth and heaven is set open to let the wanderer pass into his home. How close, then, heaven is to earth in spite of the separation, for at any moment the transit may be made. In yet another sense we may say that to us on earth a door is opened in heaven, and that is when we worship. The prayers and praises to which we give utterance on earth pass that strange division between earth and heaven which we cannot cross, and mingle with the nobler worship of the temple above, making us one with friends already there. (T. M. Herbert, M. A.)


The heavenly vision of the soul
I. The soul has the ability to perceive heavenly visions.
1. Man has the ability to look into the world around him—in nature, in society, in the nation.
2. Man has the ability to look into the world within him. It would be well for the moral life of men if they would enter more frequently into the chamber of the heart, and inspect the sentiments and energies reigning there.
3. Man has the ability to look into the world before him. This is his noblest ability. It brings into requisition the keen eye of a Divinely-enlightened soul. This vision is sublime, captivating, inspiring, elevating.
II. The soul has the opportunity to perceive heavenly visions. God allows man to gaze into the mysteries of the life above. Kings do not often give men free access to their presence-chamber. Here we see the love of God, in that: He reveals the unseen to the race; His wisdom in that He casts a little light upon the problems of futurity. This opportunity is the most frequently given:
1. To men in lonely sorrow (Rev_1:9, Eze_1:1). Men can see a long way through tears.
2. To men in humble duty (Mat_3:16).
3. To men in dying circumstances (Act_7:55).
III. The soul is called by many voices to rise to heavenly vision.
1. It is called by the voice of God as heard in Scripture; by the voice of Christ, whose earthly life was one continued gaze into heaven; by the Holy Spirit, who purifies the life of the soul that it may be capable of celestial vision.
2. The soul must ascend to heavenly vision. Elevated above flesh, above the world, above reason, even to faith.
IV. The soul obtains its truest knowledge of future destinies from its heavenly vision.
1. From the heavenly vision men learn that all human events are under the wise providence of God.
2. From the heavenly vision men learn wisely to estimate the passing events of life.
3. From the heavenly vision men learn calmly to wait the destinies of the future. Lessons:
(1) Learn in all things to look heavenward.
(2) Seek to rise morally to the level of heavenly vision.
(3) Learn to read history in the light of clear prophecy. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)


Heaven near
1. The reality of a heavenly world, and of its concern and connection with this. That world has its inhabitants, its plans and its purposes, its presences and its agencies, even like this. The subjects of its chief deliberations are the interests and the fortunes, the events and the destinies, of this lower world.
2. What an astonishment would it be to any one of us, to see that door into heaven suddenly opened! Oh, what a marvel, what a confusion, what a discomfiture, must it be to a worldly man or to a sinner to find at the moment of death that this thing which we have so long seen and handled, in which we have so long lived and moved, was not, after all, the whole or the chief part of that which is!
3. To Christian persons, to those, that is, who mourn for sin, and renounce and forsake it, and trust in Christ only, and pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to make them and keep them His, it ought to be and will be a real comfort to remember that just inside that door there is a heaven, and a throne set, and a God seated thereon, and a holy and loving council gathered, and plans under preparation for purposes of good to the poor struggling and suffering people below; and that round the throne is the covenant bow, promising evermore a clear shining after rain, and pledging the very faithfulness of God to their final rescue and deliverance.
4. Life and death, things present as well as things to come, accident and disease, want and age; yes, things more outward still, the bread and the water, the fire and the covering, the judgements of sword and famine and pestilence, the mercies of dew and rain and fruitful seasons; all are God’s, all are Christ’s; and if God’s, if Christ’s, then the Christian’s too (1Co_3:22-23). 
Oh, what an antidote to life’s cares, for those who can use it l It springs from the fact that creation itself, in all its parts, rational and irrational, has its representatives before the throne in heaven, and ascribes the glory, the honour, and the strength to Him who sits upon the throne.
5. But if the thought of the four living beings which typify creation has something of comfort for us in reference to the world above, how much more that of men of our own flesh and likeness, who are already clad in the robes of priesthood, and admitted to the sight of God and to the ministrations of the heavenly temple! That world is not all peopled with strange and unknown forms.
6. Are our faces and our feet set heavenwards? (Dean Vaughan.)


Heavenward
1. After the first vision, John gets a second, which shows that God continues and multiplies His favours on the godly, who make a good use thereof, and are desirous of more.
2. He looked, and was not disappointed; neither shall any be who looks up to God for grace, or growth of heavenly knowledge.
3. He could not see till a door was open to him; neither will we ever see heavenly mysteries till the Lord opens the door of our mind and heart (Luke_24:45; Act_16:14).
4. This and the other visions were seen in heaven; which shows that all that falls out on earth is first decreed in heaven, and the future to us is ever present to God.
5. The first voice that talked with John was as a trumpet; and so is the trumpet of the law the first voice that talks with a sinner for his conversion (Isa_58:1).
6. John is bidden come up thither; to show that the knowledge of heavenly things requires a heavenly and elevated mind.
7. This also shows that we should have God’s warrant for all our doings, and be bidden do what we do.
8. God only is able to foretell all future things, because He is omniscient, and determines the event thereof, which is a great comfort to His own elect; therefore it is said here, “I will show thee,” etc.
9. This also is for their warning, that trials and troubles must be; and also for the comfort, that their delivery must be, and shall be in like manner. (Wm. Guild, D. D.)


The vision of the throne
I. The time, and manner, in which this second vision was given to John.
1. The time. “After this I looked.” He looks up for a vision. He is prepared and looking for a further revelation. Those who have seen heavenly things once will look twice. Oh, how much nearer than we commonly imagine, faith borders upon sight, and the spiritual upon the heavenly state!
2. The manner in which the vision was brought under the notice of John.
(1) He saw a door open in heaven. He says not an open door merely, but a door that had been opened. It had not been always open. It had been once closed. A door opened in heaven signified to John that more of the counsels of heaven were about to be revealed. The door of the Church was closed against him, the door of ministerial usefulness was closed, the door of liberty, and every door of human hospitality, but a door was opened in heaven. In proportion as the people of God are precluded from the world, they have intercourse with heaven. They find readiness of access above, when hemmed in around; as water pressed on all sides rises in a fountain. To Isaiah visions were given in affliction, to Jeremiah in prison, to Ezekiel in captivity, to John in exile. This appearance to John may have been emblematic, in some degree, of renewed supplies of the Spirit of prophecy. In allusion to the manna which descended round the camp of the Israelites, God is said to have “opened the doors of heaven.” 
In Malachi you have these words: “Prove me now herewith, said the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing.” Compare this with “the heavens opened, and the Spirit descending” upon Christ at His baptism, and the descent of the Spirit upon the apostles and.the primitive. Churches.
(2) John informs us of what he heard. The tones of this voice were encouraging to John, and expressive at once of its design.
(3) John tells us what he felt on this occasion. Heaven is first opened by God to sinful man. It is opened by His mercy, not by our prayers. We love Him because He first loved us. Having opened a door He invites us to come, and promises rich manifestations of His wisdom and grace to our souls. But how can we come to Him? How rise to the door of heaven? By the power that invites us. The invitation guarantees the ability to act, and the promise ensures success.
II. The first two objects in this vision. (G. Rogers.)


The vision of the throne
I. The opening of the scene.
II. The Divine throne.
1. The nature of the throne. There is a manifold throne attributed to God: there is a throne of grace and mercy, of glory and majesty, of dominion and sovereignty.
2. The properties of the throne. These are great and manifold. It is a throne high and lifted up; it is Divine, supreme, and universal; it is infinite, eternal, and immutable; it is from everlasting to everlasting; it is eternal in its date, and endless in duration; it has neither beginning nor end, succession nor change.
3. The position of the throne. It is “set in heaven.” The throne of judgement, the great white throne, is placed in the clouds; the throne of grace is erected in the Church; the throne of glory is placed within the Veil; the throne of the universe is placed in the heavens (Isa_66:1).
4. The stability of the throne. It is “established in the heavens.” It is ordered and arranged, guarded and disposed by infinite wisdom and unerring skill. It is firmly fixed, stable, and immutable.
III. The possessor of the throne: “One sat upon the throne.” He sits on the throne, in a state of deep repose, undisturbed felicity, and eternal blessedness.
IV. The majesty of the throne. This is represented by two sacred emblems—sitting and similitude. He sat upon the throne, and He was to look upon like three sacred stones.
1. Here we behold the fullness's of the Divine perfections. He is possessed of infinite, eternal, and immutable excellence—He is the source, the centre, and the sum of all worth and glory.
2. Here we behold the variety of Divine perfections: “I am the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering,” etc.
3. Here we behold the unity of Divine perfection. All these perfections are displayed in Immanuel, who is the image of the invisible God.
V. The mercy of the throne.
1. The history of the rainbow is very remarkable. We first find it in the clouds; then established in the heavens, as the faithful witness of God’s eternal truth (Psa_89:39). It forms the glorious diadem of the angel of the covenant (Rev_10:1.); and in the verse before us it forms the gracious canopy of God the Father’s throne.
2. The rainbow round the throne was the blessed symbol of God’s glory and perfections; it was the token of His love, the emblem of His mercy, and the pledge of His faithfulness, His counsel and His covenant.
3. The position of the rainbow: “The rainbow was round about the throne.” It surrounds the seat of Divine majesty, above, below, and on every side. The majesty of Deity, the glories of the Godhead, and the splendours of the Trinity all beam benignant through the rainbow of the covenant.
4. The likeness of the rainbow: “It was in sight like unto an emerald.” Amid the varied hues blended in the rainbow, green is the prevailing; and the colour of the emerald is a deep, living green.
(1) The comparison implies the beauty of the covenant. God beholds His people enrobed in all the beauties of the rainbow, and the deep, living loveliness of the glowing emerald.
(2) It also implies the riches of the covenant.
(3) It likewise supposes the perpetuity of the covenant. The rainbow, like the emerald, is ever fresh and green.
(4) The comparison teaches the unity and variety of the blessings of the covenant.
VI. The attendants on the throne.
1. Their names. They are called “elders.” This is the sign of their age, their honourable office, and dignified condition; their wisdom, experience, and venerable character.
2. The number of the elders: “They are four and twenty.” There is an enlargement of the Church implied in the number. He was then the God of Israel, but He is now the God of the whole earth.
3. Their posture and position: “There were four and twenty seats.” The saints sometimes stand; but here the elders sit, the emblem of dignity and undisturbed felicity, dominion and authority, rest and holy happiness, and their great reward.
4. Their glorious clothing: “They were clothed in white raiment.” White robes are beautiful, they are Zion’s loveliest garments—white robes are excellent, they form the best robe—white raiment is resplendent, it is both white and shining.
5. Their golden crowns: 
“They had on their heads crowns of gold.”

VII. The terrors of the throne. (James Young.)

The first voice … as it were of a trumpet.
Trumpet voices talking with us
I. Revelations are made to us of great and solemn realities. What a world this would be if there were no voices from heaven, no Divine utterances, no spiritual revelations, to meet our needs and our questionings! We have a gospel not of figures but of facts, a gospel symbolised by the priest blowing the trumpet over the sacrifice, by the blast of the trumpet through the length and breadth of the land, ushering in the year of jubilee, by the great trumpet which was blown, that men in exile and ready to perish might return to their own land.
II. The revelations made to us are present and personal We hear a voice talking with us (Heb_1:1-2). The voice of Christ is reproduced in every believing and loving heart. His words do not die, they are still spirit and life. Revelation is not a dead, imprisoned truth, but a living fountain, the streams are as bright and pure as they were yesterday.
III. The revelations to which we listen are often trumpet-toned. Those voices have been trumpet-toned that have uttered great truths in this world; truths that yet live in it, speak in it, rule in it. Those voices have been trumpet-toned that have uttered the watchwords of liberty, that have raised the war-cry round which men have rallied, and which have stirred their souls like the blast of a trumpet. The voices that come to us in revelation are trumpet-toned, in their earnestness, in their importance. In our personal history there have been dispensations of Providence, that have been “as the voice of a trumpet talking with us.” How clear and distinct the voice that came to us in the season of sickness, in the hour of temptation, when death entered our home, etc. There is a sense in which we find it true, that the “first voice” we hear is “as of a trumpet talking with us.” We hear the awful words of the Divine law in the depths of our souls, and are convinced of our sinfulness and become conscious of our unrighteousness.
IV. These revelations conduce to our spirituality. “Immediately I was in the Spirit.” A man must be in the Spirit to see the glory that streams through the opened door in heaven, to see the throne and Him that sits on it, to see the sign of the covenant of peace, etc. If the windows of our hearts are opened towards Jerusalem, we shall sometimes see the light and glory of that golden city. The design of the sanctuary, of the Sabbath, of ordinances and sacraments, is our spirituality. (H. J. Bevis.)


Come up hither.—
An invitation to glory
I. The place to which we are invited—“hither.” Geographers, geologists, and travellers have described the earth, its islands, continents, mountains, rivers, plains, and products; but heaven is a domain beyond all merely scientific research. What we know of it is from revelation alone.
1. It will be a place exempt from ignorance. Seated there, we shall know as we are known; our views of things will not be as “through a glass, darkly,” “but face to face,” and in the highest sense we shall have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things.
2. It will be free from all kinds of evil.
(1) No slavery will be there. All its sons, of whatever clime, are freeborn. All are without shackle, brand, or chain. All walk at liberty.
(2) No sin will be there. The imagination will never conceive an unholy thought, the lips never utter a corrupt speech, nor the judgement, the conscience, the will stoop to an unholy action.
(3) No famine will be there. The bread is enough and to spare. The supply of fruit from the tree of life is constant and abundant.
(4) No tears, sorrows, pains, or death will be there.
3. Then there is nothing wanting to complete its happiness.
(1) There are great possessions.
(2) The society there is most blessed.
(3) The joys there are lasting.
(4) The life there is everlasting.
II. The invitation itself—“come up hither.”
1. There is a way to reach this place.
(1) What road to heaven is wrong?
(a) Sin is the wrong road.
(b) Self-righteousness is the wrong road.
(2) What road is right? In Virginia, in South America, and other parts, there are natural bridges of solid rock, whose stupendous arches join mountains together, and make a path firm and safe over the rolling rivers and dashing torrents beneath them. But there is no natural bridge to heaven. There was once, but man broke it down by sin. But there is still a path for man, formed by the Son of God—a path formed by His blood and righteousness. Along this path our pious fathers travelled and never found it give way, nor shall we. It is the path that leads from guilt to mercy, depravity to holiness, earth to glory.
2. Then the invitation also implies you cannot reach the place unless it be obeyed. Heaven in the gospel is set before men as an open door. It is not Christ that closes it, but unbelief. Let this be gone. (S. Fisher.)


Element of the ideal
The standpoint from which God views everything is vastly different from that which men commonly regard as their standpoint. God is for quality, clearness of vision and fundamental principles; man too often for mere quantity, haphazard vision, superficial estimates. God is ever seeking to draw man up to His level, man thinks to reduce the things of God to his convenient level, from which he hopes, without much trouble, or even thinking, to form some opinion or gain some knowledge of that which, in the deeper moments of his nature, he knows to be of vital and eternal importance. The higher the standards are the more must energy strive to reach them. It is a vastly different thing to brave the Matterhorn or Mont Blanca, or those gigantic mountains which rear their heads heavenward and lose their summits in the clouds. Climbing them means the hardest kind of toil and steadfast courage. Our standards determine the height of our aspirations, our aspirations press us on in the climbing and furnish the impetus to the outreach of our faith and courage, hut they must be fed by God, who leads us to His own standard and bids us look up and beyond, even beyond the material, into the realms of the spiritual, with a faith that does not shrink from the lessons such leadings bring. The question of questions is, Do we see, do we behold these high level truths of God? or have we so little interest in beholding that we skim them over, as we do the pages of a book that has proved uninteresting? John says, “After this I looked and, behold.” God can never do anything for a man who is blind, unless open his eyes; but God will not do anything for a man who wants to be blind. Looking shows desire. Beholding suggests power. John saw, and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which he heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with him, which said, “Come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter.” That seems to us to be a beautiful but exceptional sight. Picture John’s lonely exile life on Patmos. There did not seem to be much for him to live for, shut out and away from the busy work of life, and perhaps we have a theory that God was very gracious to him for that very reason. But such visions always come to souls that can see—long to see—and needing the blessing of such a vision. Whatever the outward life, the inner life is the condition of beholding. Lives need to be broadened and exalted. Heaven is not only to make life more tolerable, but life is to determine heaven. The vision came not to the place, but the soul, and was determined not by the meagreness of the surrounding, but by the condition of the heart-life of him who beheld. By every analysis we are to know, then, that life is not in itself either omnipotent, or satisfying, or self-sufficient, nor has it any high standard, nor is it enough to be merely practical—doing without seeing, deeds without visions. God gives us to see what we are, in order that we may see by the aid of this revelation what we may become. Ignorance is simply fatal to all progress and enlightenment. “And immediately I was in the spirit,” John says. The thought for us is this: the power that exalts life is of God and comes from above. Look above, then, though you walk the earth. Open your heart and mind and soul to the unseen realities of the eternal. Higher and higher we must go and grow, like the vine upon the trellis, abiding in the branch, lifting its myriad shoots towards the summer shining and the clear, pure air. From His standpoint, God will give us to see what must be hereafter. Our privilege is to hear God’s blessed invitation, “Come up hither, higher, to higher altitudes, with waiting, expectant attitude.” God help us to break the spell that keeps us down; God help us to unlock the bolts that shut us in; God help us to fling aside the shutters that keep us in the dimness; God help us to be as free as His truth makes us, and then, when we truly behold, how beautiful everything will grow. Just as the little child, long blind, having at last her sight restored, said to her mother, as she looked for the first time upon the beauty of nature, “How beautiful! Why didn’t you tell me how beautiful everything was!” The element of the ideal must occupy a large place in our practical life if we are to grow at all strong, buoyant, and symmetrical. Visions are not mere air castles. Some one has said, “All men who have shown our race how great things are possible have had their inspiration in dreaming of the impossible.” The vision changes and goes on changing, adapting itself to our need and our life, but the reality always remains. Visions, therefore, are the wings which bear us upward and aloft. You do not have to teach a bird how to fly. The soul, saved by the power of the Divine Christ, rises because it can; it ascends because it has within it the irresistible yearning to do so, and faith and hope give impetus. This is the revelation which is constantly coming to your life, to my life. God help us, above all, to be “in the Spirit,” as in meditative quietness of life we steadfastly watch for and behold the visions that come to us. The cross and visions of the Christ are the inspiring themes of the Christian life. Life is truly potent, as we see its lines shaped according to the Cross of the Lord Jesus, as the symbol of our salvation and the standard of our service. Look and live, then live and look, is the whole of the Christian life. Let us not be satisfied with plodding, but let us be climbing. Let our lives take on daily newer beauty, the beauty of holiness, which is the adornment of righteousness. (C. E. Eberman.)


Soul elevation
Of course it was not the bodily senses of John that were thus addressed—not the body that was commanded to ascend. His outward eye saw not the material heavens open. Elevation of soul, then, is our subject. What is it? First, is it the elevation of sensuous excitement? The souls of all men have great variation of mood. Sometimes they are buoyant and sometimes sluggish. Such souls often soar aloft on the pinions of an excited imagination, but in their own fancy they indulge in a hind of spiritual reverie, and find a heaven for the hour upon the mountain heights of their own creation. But this is not what we mean by elevation of soul. Secondly, is it elevation of intellect? “Is it the elevation which arises from study and culture? This is important, this is essential to soul elevation; but this is not it. Some of the greatest and most cultured intellects have often been found in alliance with souls deeply sunk in passion, depravity, and vice. It may be represented as consisting in three things:
1. An uplifting sense of the Divine favour.
2. An uplifting sense of moral right.
3. An uplifting sense of the spiritual world.
I. That soul elevation is attainable. The apostle saw “a door open in heaven.” Christ is this “door.” By His teaching, His death, and His ascension, He has opened the new and living way for man into the “holy of Hollie's.”
1. He is the exclusive door for man’s spiritual elevation.
2. He is the door for man’s spiritual elevation, and man’s only.
3. He is the door for man’s spiritual elevation available only for him on earth.
II. That soul elevation is obligatory. “Come up hither.”
1. I hear this Divine command sounding in the starry firmament. The great universe is the domain of mind. “Come up hither,” immortal man, wing your flight from orb to orb, system to system; count our multitudes, mark our movements, gauge our dimensions, bathe in our brightness, rise beyond us, scale the wondrous heavens still far away, revel in the Infinite, be lost in God!
2. I hear the Divine command sounding through the biography of the sainted dead. Our nature speaks from heaven. There are the voices of the goodly fellowship of prophets and apostles, of the glorious army of martyrs and confessors, etc. There are the voices of our favourite authors, the sacred poet, the holy sage and the learned divine.
3. I hear this Divine command sounding through the gospel of Christ.
4. I hear this Divine command sounding in the depths of our higher nature. Reason and conscience unite in urging us to ascend, etc.
III. That soul elevation is desirable.
1. Man’s happiness is greatly dependent upon bright prospects of the future.
2. Those bright prospects are secured by soul elevation. (Homeliest.)


The upward call
Suppose that I had gone away from here for years, and came back to find my daughter living in some low, obscure place, bound out to hard labour. Suppose my son were in another place, half-clothed, half-fed, and suffering all manner of ill-treatment. And thus with all my children. What should I be likely to do? Should I not at once set about lifting them out of such situations, and getting them up where I was? I should say to them, “Come up, my children; you were not born to live down there. Your place is where I am. Come up here to me; here is where you belong.” Well, this is what God is doing to men. He has a few, a very few, children living in the high places of spiritual life—those regions of hope and love where He Himself dwells. “Come up hither—come up into the region of warmth and love, where your Father dwells. You were not made to live down there. This is where you belong. Come up hither.” (H. W. Beecher.)


Heaven our home

It is said of Anaxagoras, the philosopher, that one night when in the act of studying the stars, his countrymen came to confer upon him an inheritance, in token of their appreciation of his genius. His reply was, “I wish it not—these heavens are my country.” Can we say the same in a grander, Diviner sense?