I do not understand all the details of the Book of Revelation but there is a special blessing promised to all who read, hear, and keep its message and I don’t want to miss that blessing. I have read many interpretations of many schools of thought and I do not think anybody has the last word on the exact meaning of every seal, trumpet, vial, and the six hundred and sixty-six. But I read the Apocalypse more than ever and understand what Godet meant when he wrote, “The more deeply the church plants in the earth the stakes of her tent and establishes herself at her ease here below, the more does the Apocalypse become to her a foreign and even repulsive book. The more, on the other hand, tempestuous winds shake the curtains of her temporary dwelling-place and threaten to break their cords, the more does she feel the value of this marvelous book which teaches her to look up continually toward the bridegroom whose return she expects.” These weird and sinister figures that move through this mysterious book take on fresh meaning against the uncanny, frightening headlines of every newspaper. The only vantage point for a correct survey of the modern scene is Patmos.
Devotion of the Day
Sanctified for Others
For their sakes I sanctify myself.
John 17:19.
There is a sense in which we, too, must sanctify ourselves for the sake of others. We live in a sin-sick world infested and infected by the microbes of evil. We live in a satanic world order, and as the physician seeks to save the patient while he fights the disease we must love the souls of men but contend with the sinful powers that beset them. Surgeons and nurses must keep fit and clean, and so must we who bear the vessels of the Lord. We must keep strong by the food of the Word, by resting in the Lord, by exercising unto godliness. If we develop points of infection they must be dealt with. Any habit or interest that lowers our resistance to evil must be abandoned. The offending eye or hand must be plucked out or cut off, for sometimes spiritual surgery is indicated. “Habits of life though harmless they seem” must be dropped if they get between the soul and the Saviour so that His blessed face is not seen.
For God’s sake, for the sake of others, for our own sakes, let us sanctify ourselves.”