The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

understood do not teach anything of this kind, and we therefore look further for the
correct and consistent interpretation.
Mr. Lord's exposition of these words recognize their close connection with the angel's
statement preceding, and in substance his explanation is that the injunction contained in
verses 10 and 11 is addressed to St. John, doubtless as the representative of the witnesses
of God, the followers of Christ throughout the Gospel Age, and its meaning is he says:
"Thou must not withhold from the Church, nor misrepresent the revelation of this book,
but proclaim it in its truth, representing those as unjust whom the prophecy exhibits as
unjust, and those as defiled whom the prophecy represents as defiled, and those as
righteous and holy to whom it ascribes that character. The Redeemer enforces this
injunction by the annunciation of His Deity and title to implicit obedience, and the
assurance that He is to come quickly, to recompense to every one as his work shall be.
(Ver. 12,13.)"
His coming will usher in the thousand-year Judgment Day, when the unjust, the filthy,
and the unrighteous will have their trial.
Mr. Russell's explanation is much the same, and perfectly harmonious with the Divine
Plan. He says that so far as these revelations are concerned they who are righteous may be
righteous still, they who are filthy may be filthy still, they who are holy may be holy still-the
unrighteous and the filthy simply ignore this message and are not moved specially by
it. During the Millennium, however, we may expect that the vigorous processes of the
Kingdom will correct many of these filthy and unrighteous, and ultimately develop many
of them into lovers of the Light, the Truth, and the Way, bringing many of them into full
fellowship with the Lord, which will secure to them everlasting life. Thus we may
properly gather the thought that as marvelous and meaningful as are the visions that St.
John beheld they were not intended to especially affect degenerate humanity. The visions
would have little or no effect upon the world in all its sin and depravity. Neither were the
visions intended to change the true Church in the sense of adding to her numbers, for it
would appear that when the time would come that the visions would be generally
understood (as is the fact today), the Church would be about complete, and the visions of
Revelation would not be intended to cause any additions to the Church --the holy would
be "holy still" and the righteous, "righteous still."
Again the Savior announces, "Behold, I come quickly," as if to doubly impress upon the
believing hearer the solemn importance of that event, and its close connection with the
fulfillment of much that St. John had just seen and heard. "And My reward is with Me, to
give to each one as his work is," evidently applies to the great Judgment Day, at the
beginning of which the Church will be rewarded and during which the world will have
their trial, retribution and reward. For an explanation of verse 13 we refer the reader to
page 38.
The correct reading of verse 14 is not "Blessed are they who do His commandments," etc.,
as rendered in the Common Version, but rather, "Blessed are those who wash their robes,