"The testimony of Jesus."—Revelation 19:10
"He who testifies these things says—Surely I come quickly."—Revelation 22:20.
John was overpowered with glory. It was but the glory of an angel, and the words were the words of an angel; but the glory and the words were those of one who had come from the presence of God. Perhaps he was like Peter on the mount, who knew not what he did and said. He forgets for a moment that it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God,' and he falls down at his feet to worship him. 'Stop!' cries the angel, 'don't worship me!' And if the holy men and women, to whom the idolatry of the Church of Rome is paid, could speak, they would say the same, shrinking back horrified at the robbery of being made equal with God. But it is to the answer of the angel, and his declaration concerning himself, that I ask your attention.
Who am I, that you should worship me? Am I God? No, I am your fellow servant—and shall the servants worship each other, and forget the Master? No, I am the fellow servant of your brethren who keep the sayings of this book (ch. 22:9). No, I am the fellow servant of the prophets of old (that is, the same angel who ministered to them). No, I am the fellow servant of the prophets of old (that is, the same angel who ministered to them). No, I am the fellow servant of all who 'hold the testimony of Jesus;' for 'the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.'
Thus then we have a proclamation made to us as to the oneness of the whole Bible.
I. The oneness of the TESTIFIER. He is the one God. The sender of the testimony is the one Jehovah; the subject of the testimony is the one Jesus; the inspirer is the one Spirit. Through many lips He has spoken, by many pens he has written; but it is the mind, the will, the purpose, the revelation of the one God that is here.
II. The oneness of the MESSENGER. It is intimated here that it was the one angel alone that was employed to communicate the testimony. He was sent to patriarchs and prophets of old, to apostles and brethren in later times. The instrument or medium of communication was a created being, an angel; but it was the same throughout.
III. The oneness of the TESTIMONY. It is not many testimonies, but one; it is the word (not words) of God. It was given at sundry times and diverse manners; in fragments and portions, great and small; by many lips and pens; spread out over more than four thousand years, for it began in paradise and ended in Patmos; yet there is unity throughout, not discord or contradiction—marvelous unity, which can only be accounted for on the fact that there was in reality but one writer—He to whom one day is as a thousand years; and that therefore the truths enunciated are the offspring of one mind, the thoughts of one heart. This testimony bore all upon one point, one person, one work, one kingdom. It was the "testimony of Jesus;" that is, it testified of Him from first to last; for Christ is the all and in all of prophecy, the all and in all of the Bible.
But let us consider the oneness of this testimony more in detail.
(1) Its oneness as to the character of GOD. His is one name throughout, Jehovah. He is the Holy One; righteous, good, true; hating the sin, loving the sinner. He is King eternal, immortal, and invisible; infinite in all things; without variableness or shadow of turning. It is the same good and gracious God that you meet with at man's creation, that you meet at the close of time; it is the same holy God that you find driving Adam out of Paradise, and bringing His deluge over the world, that you find pouring out His vials upon earth, and preparing His judgments for the sons of men.
(2) Its oneness as to the character of MAN. He was made upright, but he sought out many evil inventions. And since sin came in, we see him perpetually evil—a dark understanding, a rebellious will, a heart full of sin; thinking evil, speaking evil, acting evil. His "progress" is always downward, not upward. God's testimony to man throughout the Bible is the same. Patriarch, and prophet, and apostle tell us the same thing about the evil of man—and the exceeding sinfulness of sin. It nowhere hides the sins of the good; nor does it exaggerate the crimes of the evil. It bears one unvarying and undeviating testimony to man and man's heart—'deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.'
(3) Its oneness as to the way of SALVATION. That salvation is described in many aspects, under many figures and types—yet it is but one salvation—one way to life for the sinner, through a death and a righteousness not his own. God's free love—the great sacrifice—the sinner's faith. 'The just shall live by faith.' Salvation free, complete, present, everlasting—this is the announcement of Scripture from first to last.
(4) Its oneness as to the SAVIOR. He is the Seed of the woman; the Son of Abraham; the seed of David; the Child of Mary. He is the Man with the bruised heel—finite, yet infinite; created, yet uncreated; dead, yet living forever! Through His death life comes to us—through His blood cleansing comes. He is Jesus the Savior—able to save to the uttermost—Messiah, the Sin-bearer, the Lamb of God. Every book of the bible bears on this with marvelous concord.
(5) Its oneness as to the CHURCH'S HOPE. It is resurrection; glory; a kingdom—and all connected with Messiah. 'Behold!' was Enoch's utterance at the beginning. 'Behold! He comes with the clouds!' is John's at the close. One unvarying testimony to our eternal future.
(6) Its oneness as to the SINNER'S DOOM. Death, wrath, woe—a fearful judgment, and an endless darkness! Throughout it is the same. It began with, 'You shall die!' It ends with, 'They were cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.' They shall have death without hope, who have refused the death of the one Substitute.
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Horatius Bonar (1808 - 1889)
Bonar has been called “the prince of Scottish hymn writers.” After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, he was ordained in 1838, and became pastor of the North Parish, Kelso. He joined the Free Church of Scotland after the “Disruption” of 1843, and for a while edited the church’s The Border Watch. Bonar remained in Kelso for 28 years, after which he moved to the Chalmers Memorial church in Edinburgh, where he served the rest of his life. Bonar wrote more than 600 hymns.He was a voluminous and highly popular author. He also served as the editor for "The Quarterly journal of Prophecy" from 1848 to 1873 and for the "Christian Treasury" from 1859 to 1879. In addition to many books and tracts wrote a number of hymns, many of which, e.g., "I heard the voice of Jesus say" and "Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power," became known all over the English-speaking world. A selection of these was published as Hymns of Faith and Hope (3 series). His last volume of poetry was My Old Letters. Bonar was also author of several biographies of ministers he had known, including "The Life of the Rev. John Milne of Perth" in 1869, - and in 1884 "The Life and Works of the Rev. G. T. Dodds", who had been married to Bonar's daughter and who had died in 1882 while serving as a missionary in France.
Horatius Bonar comes from a long line of ministers who have served a total of 364 years in the Church of Scotland.
He entered the Ministry of the Church of Scotland. At first he was put in charge of mission work at St. John's parish in Leith and settled at Kelso. He joined the Free Church at the time of the Disruption of 1843, and in 1867 was moved to Edinburgh to take over the Chalmers Memorial Church (named after his teacher at college, Dr. Thomas Chalmers). In 1883, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
He was a voluminous and highly popular author. He also served as the editor for "The Quarterly journal of Prophecy" from 1848 to 1873 and for the "Christian Treasury" from 1859 to 1879. In addition to many books and tracts wrote a number of hymns, many of which, e.g., "I heard the voice of Jesus say" and "Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power," became known all over the English-speaking world.
Horatius Bonar, had a passionate heart for revival and was a friend and supporter of several revivalists, He was brother to the more well-known Andrew Bonar, and with him defended D. L. Moody's evangelistic ministry in Scotland. He authored a couple of excellent revival works, one including over a hundred biographical sketches and the other an addendum to Rev. John Gillies' 'Historical Collections...' bringing it up to date.
He was a powerful soul-winner and is well qualified to pen this brief, but illuminating study of the character of true revivalists.
Horatius was in fact one of eleven children, and of these an older brother, John James, and a younger, Andrew, also became ministers and were all closely involved, together with Thomas Chalmers, William C. Burns and Robert Murray M'Cheyne, in the important spiritual movements which affected many places in Scotland in the 1830s and 1840s.
In the controversy known as the "Great Disruption," Horatius stood firmly with the evangelical ministers and elders who left the Church of Scotland's General Assembly in May 1843 and formed the new Free Church of Scotland. By this time he had started to write hymns, some of which appeared in a collection he published in 1845, but typically, his compositions were not named. His gifts for expressing theological truths in fluent verse form are evident in all his best-known hymns, but in addition he was also blessed with a deep understanding of doctrinal principles.
Examples of the hymns he composed on the fundamental doctrines include, "Glory be to God the Father".....on the Trinity. "0 Love of God, how strong and true".....on Redemption. "Light of the world," - "Rejoice and be glad" - "Done is the work" on the Person and Work of Christ. "Come Lord and tarry not," on His Second Coming, while the hymn "Blessed be God, our God!" conveys a sweeping survey of Justification and Sanctification.
In all this activity, his pastoral work and preaching were never neglected and after almost twenty years labouring in the Scottish Borders at Kelso, Bonar moved back to Edinburgh in 1866 to be minister at the Chalmers Memorial Chapel (now renamed St. Catherine's Argyle Church). He continued his ministry for a further twenty years helping to arrange D.L. Moody's meetings in Edinburgh in 1873 and being appointed moderator of the Free Church ten years later. His health declined by 1887, but he was approaching the age of eighty when he preached in his church for the last time, and he died on 31 May 1889.