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Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ 11 se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors dune restauraticn apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas ixi film^es. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires; L'lnstitut a microfilm^ le msilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a iti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sent peut-4tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la melure, 32X 1 2 3 12 3 4 5 6 / 7 w (I '1 I ETTER WRITTEN BY Wm. Elliot, Chesley - Ontario S^TO ..A Near Friend.. Concerning the Book of Revelation, '¥ -H-H-r^t-K-K- PRKB PRESS PRINT, CHBSLBY ■P^^ '-,1-2 Ko The EDITH and LORNE PIERCE COLLECTION 0/ CANADIANA ^een's University at Kingston lb -- \' X r If > ! 15 i; < X A Letter to a Near Friend. lEAR SIR:— I am surprised at the wav you speak I about the Revelation. You talked about it as il . ,., C^. It were dangerous to study it, and warned me. as it would m,ss the salvation of Christ by studying it. kow, ,Kh '' 'T '?t'; '",'">' '''''' '^ '^"^ ^''"" «f ^he tribe o and fil '" M ?'"o' '''""^^' ^^P^'" ^^^'^ Revelation to you, ,t vr^ v^^'n'' ' '^•^SP'nt, so that you would understand t, >ou would certamly see Christ in a way you never saw He'w^dM, '' '' '""^ ''''' '''''' "^ '^'^ ^^''" -^' ^'^^^-^ sin. '" ''^'^'^''' "'' ^^°''"^'' ^" >'"^' '^''' >""" ^^'"^>1^' Glod' rJr '" ^'^'^^'''^ ''"'^ inverts the soul in s.n tl,«t lies : ^od .. test, nony IS most sure, and makes the simple wise " nnite justice. ''Thou Shalt as with a weifrhty rod of iron, break them all • And as a potters .sherd thou shalt them dash i„ pie.-eT«„Ail But God ,s judge : he puts down one and sots another u For n. he hand of God most hi,.h of red wine is a V-u .. ^' U' fi "f ""\t"'e. he pours forth and makes the wicked all rust ^Ino .V^'^^'^ l'^^?"^ = •^^•■^'^"^ theydrinkthemshall.- .n..i:^ u\ ^r"' '^^ ^^ '" 'P°^^" ^bout, a.Kl as he speaks m the first chapter. He is truly brought before cur mmc s as our God and Saviour. First as a man. in the • words. «. Which God gave unto him ; - becau.s; notht; could be given to his divine nature. He created all thing^ and nZ T l"" ^'"': ^''°"^^>^' ^' ^'°^' " f ^^ Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord. Hhich IS, and which was, and which is to come, the Al- mighty. And thirdly, as God and man, " I am he that hveth and was dead, and, behold. I am alive for evermore. Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death - \,nv clear sir, as far as [ know, the hymns of human composition' used by the churches for worship, do not teach concerning thr Jesus mentioned in them, that he has the kevs „f hoh and of death. [ would ask, is this not a part of the doc X ^V A trine of Christ ? " Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not m the doctrine of Christ hath not God." They say and believe that they have God. What have they. I would .say, a God of their own imagination. Now, let us look at this wonderful Lord and Saviour as he is brought before our minds, in the second and third chapters. Me in his infinite wisdom and unerring provi- dence, raised up the seven churches of Asia, to show us a true picture of all the churches that he would acknowledge to be churches, (for some which are called churches, and think themselves to be the true church ; whom he calls beasts — yes, of the most savage kind. See the first beast mentioned in the thirteenth chapter). These seven are a picture to let us know what he thinks ubout all the churches to the beginning of the Millennial period ; for he holds the seven stars in his right hand ; he searcheth the reins and hearts ; he hath the seven spirits of God ; when he opens a door no man can shut it. He holds up these churches before our minds, points out their good deeds, and their faults, and tells them and us what he will do. He says to Ephesusand to all churches like her, " I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, e.xcept thou repent." liphesus was an exceedingly good church, only love was wanting^l suppose to one another and to God. It seems that a church cannot stand long without love. He says to Smyrna and to all churches like her, "Thou art rich, and I will give thee a crown of life." This and all churches like her are one of the two witnesses mentioned in the eleventh chapter. He says to Pergamos, and to all churches like her, " Repent, or else 1 will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." Pergamos was a good church, only she .kept members who were wicked, and some who held false doctrines. He says to Thyatira, and to all churches like her, (she had tvvo parties in her) to one party, "I will kill her children with death," and to the other party, " I will put upon you none other burden." Thyatira had a great deal of good in her as a church, but she suffered a woman, or it may be some organization of women, to teach, and her teaching caused those who followed it to commit spiritual ["(Jiiiicatioii ; that is, to worship something? else than the true God, or by transgressing and not abiding in the doctrine of Christ, and, therefore, they have not the true God. He says to Sardis, and to all churches like her, " If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." Sardis was a dead church — had only a name to live — a good name among men I suppose ; but she had a icw names in her who had not defiled their garments— a few, I suppose, who were careful to do everything m (}od's house and to worship according to his revealed will. He says to Philadelphia, and to all churches like her, " I will keep thee from the hour of temptation." This, and all churches like her, are the other of the two witnesses men- tioned in the eleventh chapter. He says to the Laodiceans, " I will spue thee out of my mouth." This is truly dread- ful ; because a man never returns to his vomit. There are many churches like the Laodiceans at this present lime, if I see things right. They have their own good things, which God did not appoint in his holy word, and they are proud ut them, and see great good these good things are doing, and feel themselves to be very rich. Smyrna and Philadelphia are brought before our minds again in the eleventh chapter under the figure of witnesses and prophets. We are told tnere that they are overcome and killed, ami lie dead in the great city, or this great time in which we live, in which is the wickedness of Sodom, the learning and wisdom of Egypt, and the religious hypocrisy of Jerusalem at the time our Lord was crucified. This, no doubt, is spiritual death. Like Sardis, these two churches are very low now. If they are not dead, they are gasping their last gasp, for although they sing nothing but the songs of Zion for worship, and are comparatively careful to keep wicked people out of their churches, yet some of them have followed the teaching of that woman Jezebel, the W. C. T. U., and have changed the wine at the holy ordinance of the Lord's Supper ; although it is recorded in the eleventh chapter of first Corinthians, in language that no man could misunder- stand, what kind of wine was used by God's flock. Never- 3^36"] theless, I intend to remain in one of these two churches while I remain on this earth, and would like to be with them when God raises them to spiritual life a^i^ain. and takes them near to himself; because this resurrection is the be^nnnin^r of the first fruits of the Millennial Church. This is what all true saints should be striving to bring about, because all the churches are slumbering and sleep- ing, and are approaching a midnight darkness, and will con- tinue so until the first fruits begin. I do long for the first fruits. You seem to think I am to blame because I cannot conscientiously sing hymns of human composition for wor- ship. I will mention some of the reasons why. I^Mrst, I dare not take any part with those who take away some of the songs from God's book, and add songs of their own ; because God says, '« If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book." And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Secondly, God has given us a book of songs, and com- manded us to use it. He has taken pieces out of the other Scriptures and put them into it and I will add no more. Thirdly, the hymns of human composition, for ought I know, may not give a true description of God ; then I would be worshiping a false God. Fourthly, God is so jealous of his worship, and so angry if every thing about his house and woiship are not done exactly according to his word. He burned Nadab and Abihu to death because they seemed to think that fire was all alike, and they offered strange fire. He opened the earth and swallowed Korah, Dathan and Abiram, because they thought they were holy men and could work for God in his house without being appointed according to his word. When David moved the ark he had not noticed that the priests should carry it, and he put it on a cart. God killed Uzzah when he put his hand to it to keep it from falling. David found afterward it was because they had not done everything according to the due order. And even his servant Moses, of whom he thou^bt so miK-h. he w<.'.ilcl not allow to go into the promised land, because when he was jrrievouslv provoked, he forgot to speak to the rock as Cod said, but^smote it as he had done before at (,od s com- mand. All these things are written for- our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. I et us look at the second beast in the thuteenth chapter. He has two horns like a lamb. The borns are, no doubt, the ruling power, and the lamb is Christ I his church, or beast, rules like Christ. Now to make this more plain, look at the Methodist Church. Her horns are much like the horns of a lamb, but a new branch has grown on them lately,— they have deacomsses. Now the I.amb iii (iod says, " 1 suffer not a woman to speak in the dun ch, so that their horns are not now like a laml). ibis church, or beast, spake as a dragon, and -he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men." What is this hre .> Men who see the effects of it think and say it is the Holy bpint. It is no doubt the old serpent himself transformed into an mgel of light. So that this church, or l)east. has (jut- stripped the Laodiceans with their good thmgs, and has become so loathsome to our (^od and Saviour that he has east it off, and tells us in the ninet.-enth chaj)ter what its end will be. Vou will know it in the nineteenth c hapter by his miracles. He is called a false prophet there. . The image of the beast is another thing we should be on the look out for, and keep clear of it. You will see how dreadfully dangerous it is tor us to have anything to do with this image, or those beasts, if you read the 9, 10 am II verses of the 14th chapter; although they are so good in the eyes of men that no man will be allowed to buy or sell who keeps clear of them—so good .hat as many as would not worship the image of the beast sh./ald be killed. «« Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein " All who understand this prophecy have the tes- timony of God, that thev are amongst the wi^e. Dan. 12:10. Chesley, April 24, i899- Willi.-xm I.lmot.